Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The air was humid, a thin layer of sheen glazed on her body due to the lack of air conditioning in the truck and here in the building. There wasn’t much to see in the lobby of this two-star hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Every last piece of furniture was some hideous shade of green-brown, the rugs were dirty and the smell of the nearby swamp permeated. She rings the bell again, startled by her own massive hand. It was always a little startling when she regained her conscience and discovered that she had been regenerated as a male.

And maybe it was the vessel she had come in with, or the fact that she had been standing by this counter for five minutes that made her want to test her recently acquired toxic masculinity. She was ready to slam a fist on the front desk and demand to be given the keys to her room.

“Can I get some damn service in this pl—”

The woman behind the counter was middle-aged, hair grey and short. Well, she was to everyone else. But Tobin could see her behind the regeneration. They always recognised each other despite the vessels they inhibited. She saw green eyes, sharp features, too much curly hair and her perfectly crafted body.

“Christen…”, she spoke softly, eyebrows quirking up in excitement.

“Well, it’s Sylvia now”, she answered back in a more familiar voice. “Who do I have to thank for this visit?”

“The president”, Tobin says, still unable to take her eyes off the woman.

“I happen to like this president; don’t kill him”. Christen smiled warmly. “I’ve been expecting you – hearing your footsteps move up and down this Strand. It’s good to see you”.

“You’re always a sight for sore eyes”, Tobin said, observing her closely. And even that phrase has no meaning when it comes to the woman standing before her. She wasn't just a sight for sore eyes, she was the cure. “I hope my arrival here hasn’t compromised your mission”.

“My mission is nearly over. I have a few loose ends to tie and then I say goodbye to Sylvia”. She looked around, noticed that there was no one else in the lobby, save for the bellboy by the door. “I can show you to your room – readied it myself”.

“I’d appreciate that very much”.

Tobin allows Christen to lead her up the narrow flight of stairs. It was dusk outside already, she still had a long way to drive before she reached Dallas, but she could spend a little time with her here, couldn’t she?

“My people won’t pick up interference for the next hour”, Christen said, glancing over her shoulder as she unlocked the door to the room. “Maybe I could stay for a while”.

“You’re playing with fire”, Tobin says with a dangerous smirk. “Sleeping with the enemy”.

“Oh, we’re going to do everything but sleep”, she snaps back with a wicked smile displayed on her perfect mouth.

Chapter Text

“Your mission is simple”, the Commander said in their usual authoritative voice that echoed and bellowed through the empty halls of the Agency. “Cause a bar fight between two brothers that will lead to a half-century long gang war. You don’t have to stay there for long and there’s no need to be imbedded. Just go there and start a fight between them”.

“Understood, Commander”.

She had gotten her first mission – a simple one, but all new Agents were given small missions on their first go - even if they were one of the most promising students from the new class as she was.

“And as a courtesy, I’ll let you choose your own vessel”.

“Thank you, Commander”.

“Alright, Agent 1117. This matter may seem superfluous, but as you know, in this War, every move we make has purpose. We’re counting on you – don’t let us down”.

“I won’t. I promise”.

∞

She felt warm, and that consistent thump against her chest startled her. All human vessels felt different. This one felt warm, the skin felt smooth and soft, but underneath her muscles were taut and strong. She wanted a vessel that could withstand an onslaught – this one was primed for tough physical activity.

She walked into the bar, a dusty place filled with people. It was a Friday night, and maybe in this universe, she thought, Friday nights were the nights the humans liked to go out and be social. She had studied as much as she could about humans for when she had her first mission. And yes, most of the history of humankind had been uploaded into her software, but she wanted to know more than just what they were or who they were, she wanted to know what they felt, and what they loved.

She had read countless novels, written across different ages and times and had come to the conclusion that humans, since time immemorial, loved two things – themselves and sex. They often confused the latter with love, but they were not the same.

She walked up to the bar counter and cleared her throat. First time taking her new voice for a test drive. “Good evening, I’d like a Pabst Blue Ribbon, please”. Her voice came out scratchy, raspy - she liked it.

“Sure thing”, the stocky barkeeper said and turned around to grab her beer from the fridge.

“Thanks”, she said and took a sip of the liquid, wincing as it hit her tastebuds. She didn’t eat or drink, she didn’t have to, but when you’re in a vessel, assimilating in a universe where it is normal to eat and drink was common cause.

She had never had anything to drink before, but she knew she didn’t like beer. “Excuse me, sir, may I have a whiskey? Double?”, she asked.

“Alright”, the man said and began fixed her her drink. “I haven’t seen you here before, you from outta town?”

“Something like that”, she said and thanked him when he put the tumbler down in front of her. “Is this any good?”

“The best Tennessee has to offer”, he said.

“I thought I was in Chicago”, she said with a puzzled look on her new face.

“You are”, he said with a chuckle, before serving the man next to her.

She took a sip of the dark gold liquid. This one burnt, and she didn’t like it either.

“Maybe you’d prefer something a little sweeter”, a vaguely conversant voice said.

When she turned, she noticed a woman sitting at the corner of the bar. She was tall, with olive skin and long, dark hair flowing down her shoulders.

“Maybe”, she replied carefully. She wasn’t supposed to fraternize with anyone. She was there on a mission, one that could ensure the survival of her people.

The woman from the other side of the bar got out of her seat and began to slowly saunter over towards the bar. She was entranced by the way she moved. Unlike herself, who wasn’t yet sure how to operate these human limbs, the woman moved like a dancer – elegant and graceful.

“I like your face”, she said, climbing into the chair next to the one the Agent was seated in. From up close she looked almost ethereal – even in the harsh orange, fluorescent lights of the bar.

She couldn’t talk to this human, she couldn’t risk getting found out, especially not on her first mission. If she failed this, the Commander would never trust her again. She would be demoted to desk-jockey and would have to spend the rest of eternity writing information into chips to plant into the Agents. She wouldn’t get to see the infinite worlds there were. She wouldn’t help her side win the Time War.

But it was hard to not be responsive to the attention from this stranger.

“Thank you”.

“Oh, and your voice, too”, the woman said. She studied the Agent carefully. “Very realistic… very convincing”.

Her new heart beat a bit harder against her chest. “E-excuse me?”

“Your heart’s beating so loud, I could hear it from across the bar… Agent”. She smiled wickedly and reach for the whiskey. “Are you new? Fresh out of school?”

“You’re an Interferer”, she accused softly, eyes focused on the woman sat down in front of her.

“That is what you lot call us, so yes – I am”, she said with a taunting smirk on her face. “And you’re a Time Agent, albeit not a very good one by the looks of it. Tell me, did your Commander kick you out of the nest too quickly? You still seem a bit naïve”.

“I’ve been properly trained, and I understand my instructions”, she fired back quickly.

She took a sip of her whiskey and gave a tut-tut with her mouth. “What if I told you that this has been my hundredth life? Deeply embedded each time. I’ve lived and died more times than you could you’ve taken breaths”.

“That’s impressive, but it doesn’t faze me. I have a mission to complete and you’re not going to run interference here, got it?” She turned around to see if the brothers had come in yet. “And besides, both our missions will be compromised if either side were to find out we spoke. I think you’d better leave”.

“I don’t want to go just yet”. She sighed and finished the drink, seemingly deep in thought. “And don’t worry, Natura usually only picks up that I’ve come into contact with the other side in an hour, sometimes longer. The thing about time travel is that reception’s pretty bad”.

The Agent wanted to smile at that, but she remained poised and stoic. This was an Interferer, after all. They were known to be very cunning.

“What’s your name?”, she asked, eyes drawn to her lips.

“I don’t have a name”.

“That simply just won’t do”, she said with her lips in a pout. “Mine’s Christen… Well, it’s been a lot of things, but it’s Christen” She reached across the Agent for her beer. “You need a name”.

“No, I don’t. I’m here to do a job, a quick one. I don’t need an alias”.

“Well, what about this? You’re here on a mission, and while you’re waiting to do your thing, a stranger walks up to you and says, ‘wow, you are absolutely gorgeous – what’s your name?’”. She sat back and took a sip of beer. “What then?”

“What are the odds of that happening tonight?”, she said with the shake of the head.

Christen, the Interferer, stood up slowly, eyed her from head to toe and then said, “Wow, you are absolutely gorgeous… what’s your name?”

The Agent couldn’t help but smile at that. Her first ever smile and it belonged to this captivating enemy. “My name is Tobin”.

“What? That’s not a name”, Christen protested.

“It is. It’s my name now”, the Agent said and scratched at the back of her neck, feeling against the place where her chip was planted in. She had considered a name as she travelled to this Strand. She wanted something unique and short and the name Tobin was very phonetically pleasing.

“Tobin?”

“Yes”, she said proudly.

“Well, Tobin, have you ever had a hot dog with relish?”

“I- I’ve never had any food”, she said.

Christen looked down at the watch on her wrist. “Alright”. She whistled at the barman and ordered two franks with relish and another whiskey for herself. For Tobin, she got a cherry liquor over Sprite. “You’ll like it, it’s sweet”, she said.  

“Maybe I don’t like sweet things”, Tobin said. “I don’t know what I like”.

“That just means you’ll have to try everything”, Christen said. “There are so many things you get to experience for the first time. I’m sure you’ve never had ice-cream or cookies or chicken parm? I mean, and that’s just three things. All food related, too”.

“I suppose it’s fun to imagine that I have so many lives ahead of me, where I’ll get to do all the things that life requires”.

“Not if we win the Time War and you and your kind all cease to exist”, Christen said.

“You’re not going to win”, Tobin said assured.

“I don’t want to talk shop”, Christen said with a disapproving shake of the head. “We’ve only just met and we’re already talking about generational warfare”.

“What should we talk about then?”, Tobin asked with a newly found confidence.

“Why are you so trusting?”, Christen asked. “I’m a perfect stranger, even more, I’m a soldier from the other side”.

“I’m starved of conversation”, Tobin admitted.

Christen’s mouth pulled up in a smile as she gave a nod. “And you think I’d be good company?”

Just then, the barman placed their food and drinks down in front of them on the counter. “Enjoy, ladies”.

“Thank you”, Christen said, pulling the plate closer to her. “This might be your last supper; if you lose the war”.

“We won’t lose the war”, Tobin said, taking a sip of her drink and finding it quite…pleasant. Still very strong, but different – sweeter.

“We’ll see about that”. Christen picked up her hot dog. “Do you know how to eat this?”

“I think so”, Tobin said and picked up hers, too. “Like this, right?”

Christen nodded, mouth full of food.

The first bite Tobin took was amazing. The second one was even better. Food really was all it’s been cracked up to be. “This is… good”.

“I know, it’s the best. Sometimes I’ll just drop into this universe for a hot dog”, Christen said and wiped her mouth with a serviette. “But let’s keep that between us”.

Tobin studied her carefully. “What’s your endgame here? I know your kind can get very violent”.

“That’s the lazy propaganda your Agency feeds you; we are a peaceful people. We only want the best possible future for us all and that includes you and your kind”.

“We can’t both exist in the future”, Tobin reminded her.

A strange, faraway expression appeared on her face. “I know”. Christen had a small smile on her face, then she looked at her watch again. “Would you look at that, seems as if though I have to make myself scarce”. She reached into her purse and placed a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. “I have to go”.

“Where are you going?”, Tobin asked.

“I have a tree to plant in Cyprus, to counter the bar fight you’re about to cause”. She took one last sip of her drink, studied Tobin carefully and said, “I really do like that face”.

“I like yours”, Tobin said, and then she did something that surprised even herself. She tentatively reached around to place a hand on Christen’s nape. She could see the curiosity in her bright green eyes as she grazed a finger over where she knew her operating system chip was. “I’ll always see you like this, and you’ll always see me”.

Christen had wanted to ask what she meant by that, but she knew she had already spent too much time with the Agent. She gave a nod. “Goodbye, Tobin”.

∞

Her mission was completed with time to spare. It turned out that the brothers were both hotheads, who grabbed each other within twenty minutes after she suggested a game of bar pool.

She travelled back-up stream, and up-stream came with its own new sensations. She wondered if she would ever get used to traveling through space and time, she didn’t think these vessels were conducive to the speeds.

But then her mind, vast and filled with only necessary information that her Agency had given her, managed to find a way to think about the Interferer from earlier. The one with the piercing eyes and know-it-all smirk.

She had seen human vessels before, she had studied human forms for years, but she had never seen a face quite like hers. She closed her eyes and saw the woman in front of her and wondered how real she even was.

Natura had always been tethered to the natural world – maybe she, Christen, wasn’t as manufactured as Tobin was. And if Christen was as much of a sentient robot as she was, maybe that meant they weren’t as different after all. Except in ideologies of course.

When she opened her eyes, she was back in her rest pod, with two nurses standing over her.

“How did I get back here?”, she asked groggily.

The nurses looked to each other, then back at her.

“Agents always respawn in their pods”, the two said in perfect unison.

“What’s gonna happen now?”

“We wipe your memory clean so that it does not interfere with your next mission”.

Tobin suddenly didn’t like the sound of that. She didn’t want her memory to be wiped clean. She didn’t want to forget the bitter taste of the beer, or the burning of the whiskey. She didn’t want to forget the low hum of voices murmuring in the bar, or the sounds of the streets at night. She wanted to savour every taste, ever smell, ever face that she had come across. The bitterness of the beer, the fire of the whiskey as it glided down her throat – she wanted to remember green eyes and a face that wore a teasing snarl.

“Agent 1117”, a voice permeated through the speakers in the room. “This is your Commander speaking. Congratulations on a successful mission”.

She managed to sit up somewhat in her pod. “Thank you, Commander”.

“And as it is common cause to do so, the nurses will not be wiping your memory from your trip. Everyone remembers their first mission here at the Agency”.

A shower of relief washed over Tobin’s face and she managed to give a fleeting smile. “Thank you, Commander”.

“Now, rest up”, the voice spoke. “I have another mission for you”.

The nurses walked away, leaving Tobin in her pod. In her pod, with her thoughts.

Was everything she knew about Natura a lie? Was it all truly just propaganda, as Christen had said it was? Ever since her inception, she was taught that Natura Interferers were violent and that they did not care for Agency’s kind, that they called them ‘tin-pots’.

Christen hadn’t called her that. Christen called her gorgeous. And she didn’t seem like she wanted to cause any trouble, maybe a little mischief, but not trouble.

Tobin knew she couldn’t think about Christen anymore, her thoughts were public domain, every single one of them would be stored to the cloud. No one could ever know that she shared a meal with an enemy, not unless she wanted to be shut down forever.

No, she would have to save all the thoughts she had about her for when she was back in the field, doing her missions.

∞

Tobin spent fifty years out doing little missions – planting a seed here, causing a riot there. She was not asked to be embedded, but she preferred these quick missions to different times. It was as if though she had been given a tasting menu of what the natural world had to offer.

She got to attend football games in the Spanish capital, drink tea with a monarch (and by drink tea, she really meant poison the tea of a monarch), and she got to study humans in the ways she always wanted to.

Humans were fascinating creatures. They scurried around like little ants, chasing things Tobin could never understand the significance of. Why were they all so obsessed with making money and collecting all these worthless things that they themselves created. And for what? They were mortal – they would one day die and leave it all behind anyway. She just didn’t see the appeal of spending so much of one’s little time, obsessing over such trivial things.

During her travels, she had learned that the best things, the things that made this life worth living, were the things money couldn’t buy. Golden sunsets and the feel of waves crashing at your feet, the taste of a freshly plucked berry and the wind against your back as you hike up a trail. Humans had all of these things at their disposal, but they never realised that they didn’t need anything else to be happy.

Tobin often thought about happiness and what exactly it meant. She had seen a definition – one that was programmed into her extensive dictionary – but that wasn’t the answer she was after. She knew what the word meant, but she had no idea what the feeling was. She supposed it was somewhere between what she felt when the Commander gave her her first mission and somewhere between when she closed her eyes at night and allowed herself access into that part of her subconscious that the Agency did not know about. Then she would think about Christen, the Interferer who simply set up camp in her mind and refused to leave. She had been occupying her own little corner in Tobin’s mind, but she kind of liked it.

There was something dangerous about allowing herself to think about an enemy. That was who Christen was in the end – an enemy who would fight for her side’s survival. She was one of those cunning Interferers, one of those sap-sucking Natura who wanted to win the Time War so that they may make their science the only way of life.

She hated that Christen had taunted her so and made her feel like a naïve child. She wished that she had a little more of a clapback, but she was a young Agent then. And it had been her first interaction with someone from the other side. Now, she was more prepared to take on someone with the ilk of Christen.

She had hoped that their paths would cross again, but they never did. Maybe Christen was once again deeply embedded and carefully pulling the strings in some other timeline. She waited for fifty years for that chance encounter where she would turn a corner, and Christen would turn one, too and they would see each other again.

There would be no such serendipity, so, she decided to write a letter instead.

Chapter Text

Christen found it hard to believe that this was once Earth. There was nothing left, save for the arid lands and pale blue skies. This is the future the Agents want – a future where there is nothing left. Where they can create new organisms that exists to serve them.

Since her existence, she had been taught to loathe the Agency. Told that they would kill every living thing if it meant that they got their way. She was taught that her side were the good guys and that one day the righteous will inherit every universe. So, she fought in the Time War. It was all she knew. Travelling through space and time, kicking a pebble in Baku to cause a governmental shutdown in Berlin in a hundred years from now.

She lived many lives, each one different from the last. Once she had been a painter, tasked to paint the ceiling of a chapel. Centuries later that meant that a company in China could develop a phone application that spread minute-long videos all over the world. And a century from then that will mean that Denmark becomes the superpower that will bring about the downfall of the United Nations. Once, she was a waitress at a diner who raised a daughter to become the first female president of the United States.

But with each life, she only ever took one memory with her. She asked for Natura to clear her RAM, and she kept those little memories hidden in places they did not even have access to. She remembered smells, tastes, sounds. She never remembered the people; because she never got too attached. She was capable of having emotions, but they hardly ever stuck.

When she goes back to the future where they exist freely, and she entered her rest and rejuvenation pod, she allowed herself to dream of all the things she stored away. And for decades she would dream about riding gondolas in Venice and feeling the sun on her skin as she walked through the Kenyan coffee fields. She also dreamt about a September night, in 1997 Chicago. She was supposed to stop two brothers from fighting, but then she had seen this tall brunette with very expressive eyes and a very inviting mouth.

She was an Agent. A young one, though. And Christen, despite being taught to hate Agents ever since her existence, she couldn’t help but smile at her. They even talked, shared drinks and a meal. And by end of it she knew she had to let that Agent complete her mission, because if she didn’t complete it, she might never be sent out again. So, she let Tobin successfully complete her mission, and then went back to Natura and told them that she could not get the job done. They sent her to 2001 Cyprus, just as she had thought they would.

And so goes the chess match.

Natura Interferers made one move and then the Agency would make another. And every new move created a new universe with a new future, and they’d keep on playing this chess match until either side found a future where they were king.

But Christen couldn’t get Tobin out of her system. Every other life she lives she hoped that they would somehow run into each other again.

She walked until she found the oasis she was told she’d find. A deep blue hole in the sand, with the clearest water she had ever seen. A palm tree was curved over it, creating shade. She had a simple mission – pollute this water so that the last few living things on this planet may have nothing to drink in this desert. It might sound like everything her side were against, but in the long run, this will mean that elephants do not go extinct.

As she walked closer to the water, she noticed a glass bottle floating above. There wasn’t supposed to be a glass bottle. She moved closer, bent down, and picked it out of the water. There was a rolled-up piece of paper inside – a message in a bottle.

She uncorked it and then allowed the letter to fall into her hand.

Dear Christen,

If you’re reading this, congratulations, you’re about to complete a mission the affect of which has already been nulled – I’m getting very good at my job.

The last time I saw you I had just been ‘kicked out the nest’, but I’m a fully realised Agent now. And of course I’d be, it’s been three decades.

I wanted to write so that I could tell you that I often find myself thinking about the night we met. I suppose I should thank you for giving me so many firsts that night. First drink, first smile, first bite of food. In your own way you made me a better Agent, and now that I’ve been on a few missions and learned more about the world and the War, I hope that we run into each other again sometime. Maybe our paths will cross one day.

Make your next move; maybe you’ll catch up to me.

Warm regards,

Tobin

Christen’s eyes scanned the letter as she read it for a second time, and a small smile grew on her face. She crumpled the paper and tossed it in the water, watching as it dissolved. Tobin could be anyone and any time right now, and she wished she knew where to find her.

But she still had a water supply to poison, despite it being for nothing now. She sighed as she emptied the vial into the clear water.

“Back to 17^th century Rome, I suppose”, she said to herself, covering her head with the scarf and trudging through the desert once more.

-

 She ordered a cup of tea and sat outside on the terrace. This wasn’t the worst of times, 1992, and Paris wasn’t the worst of places to be. She picked up black pen that laid by her hand and started to write a new letter. The last one was too… it just wasn’t right. It was too wordy, but it didn’t say enough, the sentences were clunky, the contents were weak.

She carefully placed the pen onto the notepad and began again.

Dearest Tobin,

I still think your name is a bit too conspicuous. Do you know that I have lived two full lives since we last had correspondence and I’ve still yet to meet another with that name? I still like it, though. I think it suits you just fine.

I was very impressed by your last play – the one where you had me trekking through a desert for hours all for nothing. Very clever. I had to fight in the Coliseum just to have a chance at reversing your reversal. And here I thought I was the Interferer. Thankfully I so love the sweltering heat of the desert and the sand between my toes, it was more of an unplanned vacation than a fruitless mission – I really should thank you for that one.

I hope this letter finds you well, I’d hate for this to be the last time we speak.

When you get this, make sure you order the lemon aperitif – it’ll make the next part go down smoother.

I’ve already made enough moves so that you seducing and marrying the Princess of Monaco will have no effect on whether or not this future has bees. I thought I’d spare you the trouble.

Kind regards

Christen

She gave a satisfied smile as she re-read what she had written down. Short and to the point, but with enough there to let the Agent know that she’d still been thinking about her, too. She folded the paper, then beckoned the waitron over.

“My friend, a young lady by the name of Camille Roux, she booked a table here for later. Could you please hand her this note when she arrives? I wish I could stay to meet her, but I really must go”, she said in perfect French.

“Of course”, the waitron said with a smile.

“Thank you”. She took out her wallet, paid for the tea and left a generous gratuity. As she made her way through the tables of the restaurant, she wondered if she should linger on, and wait for Tobin to finally make her arrival. She wanted to see her again, taunt her like she did that night when they met. Something told her that Tobin would spar back this time, she wanted to see it for herself.

But she knew she couldn’t stay. Natura would find out if she kept hanging around Agents for too long. She pushed open the glass door and made her way down the busy Parisien streets.

In this life she is a rich man’s wife. She drinks far too much red wine, and she goes to the ballet even though she doesn’t enjoy it. But she had to live this life so that when her geriatric husband died, she would inherit all of his money and power and set a course of action that would have the best possible outcome for Natura.

That’s what Time Soldiers did. They imbedded themselves into these elaborate lives from birth, all so that they may one day light a match on one side of the world, so that in a millennium from now, a king pardons a criminal who will go on to invent teleportation.

Christen stopped to look back at the restaurant she had just left, there was still no sign of the woman she had written to. She twisted around and continued to stroll down the street.

-

Arnault Lassier was dead, and his wife Marie was in mourning. But Christen wasn’t.

Arnault was a grubby bastard she often wanted to kill in his sleep. He made his fortune from scamming others and he had a hard time taking no for an answer. She was glad that he was finally dead. It had happened a decade sooner than she was told it would, but the Natura could not foresee everything, and a pig like Arnault would definitely die from a heart-attack.  

Now she would inherit all of his money and she would give most of it to the fund the campaign of the man who would become president of France. It was imperative that he came to power – Natura will exist for another hundred years when he does.

Once that money was given to him, it would be easy for Christen to stage Marie’s death. The best part about these vessels were that you could leave a perfectly acceptable corpse behind.

She hid herself well, with a wide-brim hat and dark sunglasses as she walked down the street. The whole of France had been made aware that Lassier was dead, his wife would now be watched like a hawk.

There was a little patisserie at the end of the street that served the best chocolate eclairs, and every once in a while, she would go there and buy one of the delicious pastries and wonder what her next life would be like. Sometimes she’d wonder about Tobin, and where she was.

It had been seven years since she left her that letter and she still had no response. Maybe she never got it, or maybe she didn’t feel like sending anything back. Maybe she was afraid that she would be compromised, and figured Christen wasn’t worth the risk.

Neither the Agency nor Natura took kindly to those who went against their respective regimes. She could of course, not speak for the Agency, but she knew Natura would sooner throw a traitor into the void than listen to reason or explanation as to why there had been collusion with the other side.

“Madame?”, the young, brunette waitress with the Coco Chanel bowl cut spoke and usurped Christen from her daydreams.

“Yes?”

“Someone left this letter here for you”, she said and held out a sun beige coloured envelope with her name, Marie Lassier, engraved in gold. When she opened the letter, it addressed her differently.

Dear Christen,

Your letter made me smile, mostly because I could sense just how annoyed you were with me. I’m sorry about that whole thing with you walking through the desert for three days and nights and having it all be for naught, but you know that’s just part of the job, right? And if you enjoyed it so much, I suppose it was my pleasure.

It’s a shame that you curtailed my would-be relationship with the Princess, I was quite looking forward to it. I know you said you did it to save me the trouble of seducing and romancing her, but I feel as if though you had other intentions when you made that play.

Well, that’s all by the by now. I still managed to work my way into the royal palace in Monaco and it turns out being the Princess’ best friend has its perks, too.

It’s a shame that we were in the same time and at virtually the same place, but we never even met for a cup of tea. I suppose we have lead very different lives this time. I was watching the Cirque du Soleil with European royalty, and you were your vile husband’s prisoner. I heard about his untimely demise, I suppose some men just can’t hold their adrenaline, especially if it’s in a shot straight to the heart.

I’ll be honest; I’ve been thinking recently. I’d never met anyone like you and I’m not quite sure what that means. All I know is that while sailing down the Riviera, and as the sun reflected off the water, the only thing on my mind was you.

I don’t know where I’ll go next, or if we’ll meet again soon, I suppose we’ll have to wait for the stars to align for us. How much time do you have?

Warmest regards

Tobin

Christen allowed her fingers to graze over the ink, so read the letter again slowly, to burn every last syllable into her personal memory.

-

Subtle sunlight peered through the blinds, it was probably late morning and about the time she should get up, but Tobin is convinced her latest imbeddedment is the most enjoyable by far. She’s a rich girl, living off of her parents’ fortune, waking up at twelve and partying until the sun came up on the next day.

She didn’t have to do much, just wait around and be at the party the night a would-be billionaire meets his would-be partner. Yes, there would be some fast-acting poison involved, but there were always casualties in war.

She languidly sat up in bed and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

It had been a decade since Monaco. Since she found herself on the Riviera, champagne in one hand and a fleet of handsome men chasing after her and all that mattered was getting a letter to a soldier from the other side.

She had to be careful, so as not to arouse suspicion when she asked her Command Stations if there had been any Interferers nearby.

“A few”, one of the communications operators had said. “But they’re all on their own missions, they’re not going to mess with yours”.

“Are you sure?”, she asked, pretending to be worried about possible interference. “I don’t want all of this to be for nothing”.

“Let’s see… We’ve tracked two Natura Interferers to Monaco and three in Paris. The rest of France is in the clear”.

“Are they any good?”

“Can’t say for sure, but one is ranked fairly high. We can’t get their identity, but they’re veiled under the alias ‘Marie Lassier’. Nothing to do with you or your mission, Agent 1117. I suggest you do your job and don’t worry too much about the other side”.

“Of course”, Tobin said and cleared her throat. “I was just curious, is all”.

“No need to be curious about Natura Interferers”, the operative contended. “You know the Agency doesn’t take too kindly to cross-border contamination. Don’t mess with them or they’ll mess back and then this war gets even uglier”.

“Understood”. She had hang up and walked over to the window in her room that faced the ocean. Convinced that Christen was Marie Lassier, she set off to Paris and found out that the woman she was looking for was married to an old French gangster, infamous for his unique means of torture while extorting money from innocent business owners and for being a scummy pig.

She knew she couldn’t stay in Paris for too long, so she acted quickly – managing to gain access to Arnault’s office by posing as a ‘gift’ his friend sent him. She flirted, laughed at his jokes and went he leaned in to give her a kiss, she drove an adrenalin shot right into his heart. It was enough to kill him instantly, but still have it look like an accident.

And then she sat on the balcony of her hotel room and wrote Christen a letter. She wanted her to know that she still thought about her. And she wanted to taunt her a little, too. And she wanted Christen to know that she wouldn’t have to worry about Arnault Lassier anymore, that she took care of it.

Christen couldn’t interfere with her own mission, it was against the rules. She had to let the natural order take place, that was the way their side fought. But Tobin couldn’t take knowing that Christen was saddled up a no-good man for another few years. So, she stepped in – interfered, if you will.

But she had heard nothing back from her, and she was worried that she had crossed a line somehow. Maybe Christen didn’t like the fact that her mission had gone left. Or maybe she was disgusted by the kill – maybe Natura don’t appreciate the way Agents go about their business. She was part human after all – all the Natura were.

Tobin was a sentient android, made in a laboratory by scientists and engineers. There was nothing human about her, and everything she felt was programmed into her software. She was designed with the intention to assimilate seamlessly into the human world. But she could control her own emotions, she could want the things that humans want. She could feel emotions, happy or sad. And she could be lonely, and she was.

While she was imbedded as a whole different person, the things she felt were real, but there would always be a conscious part of her software that reminded her of what she was and of where she would return to once this life was over. It was in that conscious part that she stored away all of the things she wished to keep for herself. A lot of that space had been occupied by Christen. It didn’t matter what she did, who she was or where she found herself, Christen seemed to always be at the back of her mind. She wanted nothing more than to see her again, even if it was just for a second.

Christen has passed her once, in Paris, when she went on her little detour to rid Marie of her husband just a tad quicker. She had sat outside under the veranda of a little bistro, paging though a magazine. When she looked up to call the waiter, a car had driven by and she could’ve sworn that she had seen Christen sitting at the back. Long ago, she had showed off one of the Agency’s nifty applications – she imprinted on Christen’s software so that they would always recognise each other, never mind the vessels they inhibited. So, even if to the world she was Marie Lassier, the tall, raven-haired vixen turned housewife, Tobin saw her as Christen with the laurel green eyes and know-it-all mouth.

She watched the car down the street until she could no longer see it and hoped it wouldn’t be the last time she saw her.

-

Tobin’s name is Jessica in this strand of the universe. And Jessica makes a lot of bad decisions. She drank too much, smoked everything but cigarettes, and kissed every boy that showed interest in her. Tonight had been no different to most of Jessica’s life. She drank too many cocktails and found herself hunch over a toilet in the bathroom of a leather nightclub. As she looked up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she saw a message written in black marker.

Dear Tobin,

I hope you like this unique way of communication. I figured your girl wouldn’t be caught dead with an old-fashioned letter in her hand.

I trust you’re doing well, and that you’re enjoying this particular strand of time. I often refer to it as the time people all thought they were free but didn’t realise they were their own prisons. Is that pretentious? Maybe I’m just pretentious.

I will have you know that my intentions in Monaco were purely driven by my admiration for your work. I don’t think you should spend a lifetime trying to make a stuck-up royal fall in love with you. You should be fighting on the frontlines, be the general on a battlefield, not some rich woman’s plaything. No one should be subjected to that kind of life, not even an Interferer like me. Is that why you got rid of that French nuisance?

It was a shock, for sure, but I was very pleased when I found out that he would no longer be an obstacle. No one had ever done me a favour, so I suppose I owe you now. You can decide the form my repayment will take.

You’ve become a bit of an earworm, a song constantly playing in my even when I don’t want to hear music. By the time you read this, I’ll be gone, but I do hope you enjoy the party. Have a drink for me – maybe cherry liqueur over Sprite and ice. But take care of yourself – I quite enjoy having a sparring partner and I don’t want to lose you just yet.

Keep well,

Christen.

In an instant, Tobin was sober and present in the vessel she inhibited. She reached out to graze over the marker message, smiling to herself as she read Christen’s words.

∞

There wasn’t much to see in Geneva, well, Geneva New York that is. Christen was embedded as a bored housewife, but one whose husband worked for a very important man.

Her days consisted of walking him and their children, getting them ready for work and school. And then she’d run her errands – go grocery shopping, knit a sweater or two, cook and clean and fetch the kids at school on the afternoon.

She wondered how anyone would be happy living like this – with so little adventure and intrigue. She was subjected to tedious PTA meetings and weekend barbeques with Bob and Sarah, and she really did not like Bob and Sarah.

At least her children were a blessing. The youngest was a skilled painter, and she would often take him to the city, to the big museums, and they’d appreciate the art. The middle child was a sensitive boy. He always helped her in the kitchen, and always wanted to play with dolls instead of toy cars. His father didn’t want to buy him the toys he asked for, so she’d make his dolls with wool hair and button eyes. And she’d stitch their little outfits and watch over him as he played it the sunspot in the backyard.

Her oldest was a girl and she only wanted to run. She was fast, too. She held all of the records at her school, and her mother never missed a meet.

Christen had read every book on raising children, and of course Natura had made sure she would be a good mother, should the need ever arise. Even though she was inhibiting a vessel, she could still bare children and she always loved each and every one of them like they were her own. She never cared for any of the men, but she loved her kids and she hated having to leave them behind.

After a while, the pain of losing her kids over and over, she asked Natura to remove every memory of them when she returned home after an embeddedment. But somehow, vague memories remained – her humanity rearing its head, she supposed.

Today she had to bake seventy cupcakes for her youngest’s class bake sale. Ever the doting mother, she went to buy supplies, stopping in the middle of the baking supply aisle when she saw that the blue and white of all purpose flour on the shelf had black writing on it. She had learned for experience that when something seems just a bit out of place, that it was usually put there with intent – the intention that she would be the one who found. She picked up the flour and read the message.

My dearest Christen,

Did you know that this is the 100^th anniversary of our first meeting? To celebrate the occasion I thought I’d get you some flowers, well flours, see what I did there? Do you appreciate punny humor? Let me know.

How are you? I caught a glimpse of you not too long ago, in the Met, no less. I wanted to say hi, but I’m afraid I just did not have the time.

Your last letter was very inventive, ten points for creativity. The contents? Well, that’s another story. You called me a worm, and that wasn’t very nice of you. Maybe you should read up on how to compliment a lady, just in case we ever meet again.

The Paris Incident was not because I thought you needed my help – I know you’re capable of taking care of yourself – it’s one of the things that I admire about you. Do you want to know another thing I admire about you? I admire the way you live all these different lives like they really mean something to you. I often find myself wondering what it would be like to mean something to someone… You seem to have it all figured out.

But alas, this letter, like my time in New York City, is but a brief intermission. I have places to go and people to be, you do, too.

So for now, it’s until we meet again.

Warmest regards,

Tobin

<>Ps. That favour you owe me? I’m still thinking of ways in which you can repay my act of good will. Once I come up with a suitable form of repayment, you’ll be the first to know.

∞

Tobin picked petals off a little yellow flower. Things were slow in this strand of time. The hours felt like days and the days felt like months. She missed the city, the hustle.

“And I really think that I love you, Elouise”, Tom said. She quirked up when she realised that he had been speaking this whole time.

She liked Tom. He was a nice guy, and not the kind of nice guy who said they were a nice guy, but only so they could get what they wanted from a woman. Tom was a good man. He worked as a junior architect, he came from a respected family, and he always treated her well. He bought her flowers and candy and told her she was beautiful every time her saw her.

“I want us to be together forever”, he said, reaching into the pocket of his grey linen pants. “That’s why I got you this ring. Elouise Davenport, will you marry me?”

She hesitated for a second, looked into his eyes and wondered what she was supposed to feel in the moment. For a second, her own consciousness pushed through and she wondered what it would be like to be proposed to for real. Would she laugh? Would she cry? Would she feel such a mix of emotions that it would paralyse her?

She never thought about love as something she could actually have, she was an android after all, but she was programmed to feel it, so maybe it was fair that she craved it, too.

“Elouise, please say something”.

“Yes”, she breathed out softly. “I want to marry you, Tom”.

The blonde man enveloped her in the tightest hug she had ever been given, kissing her on the lips in unbridled joy. He loved her so much.

“I am going to make you the happiest woman in the world, I promise”.

Tobin closed her eyes momentarily, sinking into the vessel further. “I love you so much”, she said, kissing him again.

-

Tom dropped her off at her parents’ house, where she still lived, and had gone in with her to tell them the good news. Naturally he had asked her father’s permission and her mother’s blessing, so they weren’t at all surprised, just very pleased that she said yes.

Her mother was already planning the wedding with her younger sister, but all Tobin wanted to do was climb into bed. She said her good nights and made her way up the stairs and to her room. When she opened the door, she noticed that the window was left open, and that the wind had blown her curtain away just a little bit. And then she saw the strange new music box on her vanity.

There was an indescribable warmth in the pit of her stomach, and she smiled as walked closer to the vanity.

Sitting down on the bench, she opened the music box, freeing a slowly spinning ballerina. Fur Elise played softly. She ran her finger along the words inscribed on the inside of the wooden lid.

My dear Tobin

I cannot believe it’s been 100 years; it feels like just yesterday when you were a baby Agent who’d never even had a hotdog before, now look at you. I’d like to think I had a hand in your development. Did I make you a better Agent? I feel like I did.

I’m doing very well – skin clear, hair healthy, all that good stuff. And I suppose you’re doing well, too. I hope you’ve found the way to make the antebellum South work for you, personally I never really liked it – that’s why I only dropped you this little present and got outta there.

I’m sure you can tell that it’s a music box and that it plays one of the most beautiful melodies in the world. I wanted to give you this gift to explain what an earworm is. See, an earworm is a tune that’s just stuck in your head without prompt. That’s what you are to me – you’re a song that just won’t leave my head. I hate the way you’ve infiltrated me, but I also find it fascinating. I suppose I just find you fascinating. I find myself wondering what you’re doing and what it’ll mean for me a couple of decades down the line. Will you plant a tree that will one day give me shade? Have you already done so? Am I drinking wine the grapes of which you harvested once upon a time? I love thinking about the ways in which our lives could intertwine.

I didn’t know that you had so much admiration for me, or that you would be so bold about it. So, this is me being bold, too - I want to have dinner with you. Somewhere. Somehow. I don’t know the specifics or mechanics, but I would like to share another meal with you again.

I await your response.

Keep well,

Christen.

Chapter Text

A smell of death hung in the air as Tobin walked across the blood-stained streets of what was once the Finnish capital. Any universe where nuclear weapons exist always ends the same – with the rich gallivanting on a newly colonized planet and the rest of humanity battling each other for resources and eventually dying in their attempts to keep staying alive.

The end of the world was coming. A meteor would hit in less than twenty-four hours, wiping this planet and this timeline from existence. Agents weren’t supposed to be on doomed planets – no one was supposed to be there. That’s what made it perfect. When a timeline is destroyed, no one has control over it anymore – not the Agency and not Natura either. They no longer kept tabs on these doomed planets, and their technology was programmed to focus only on the timelines that could still be influenced.

Tobin knew she couldn’t transport using any of the portals, so she walked. She walked for a very long time, until she found the Baltic flatlands where the tiniest little flowers grew. It was hard to believe that there could still be such beauty left in this world. But of course, if there was still some semblance of the natural world left, Christen would be the one to find it. The Interferer was somewhere on the other side of the fields, waiting for her.

They didn’t have much time to plan this meeting, but once she read Christen’s letter in the music box, she immediately remembered that their respective sides stayed away from doomed planets and that that would be the perfect place to meet in secret.

Tobin had the compulsion to run a hand through her hair and brushing dust off her jacket, but she knew her hair was perfect and her outfit was spotless. She trekked across the field, feeling her heart beating against her chest as she spotted the other soldier. The closer she got, the more she wondered if they were already in to deep. This was a very dangerous game, fraternizing with the enemy.

Theirs was a war that stretched for millennia. The Agency and their technologies, Natura and their science. There was no middle ground, only this Time War.

She took her seat at the white picnic table, adorned with a cream-coloured tablecloth and decked with two plates, two sets of golden cutlery and two wine glasses. A candle burnt in the centre and dried petals adorned the table.

Christen was dressed in a pale beige silk blazer, with a golden butterfly broach on the lapel. A leather harness of the same colour peeked out underneath. She greeted Tobin with a coy smile.

“Good evening”, she said, resting her chin in her palm as she watched the other Agent settle into her seat.

“Hello”, Tobin greeted, eyes finding Christen’s from across the table. “The white sandy beaches of Anguilla, the ruins of Greece, the ancient Japanese gardens… and this is where you wanted to meet.

“None of those places have any flowers and I wanted to get you flowers as a thank you for the ones you gave me back in Geneva”, Christen explained. “This is the last place on Earth where flowers grow”.

Tobin stifled a laugh, looking down momentarily. “So you did appreciate the pun?”

“I suppose so”, Christen said. She nodded to the bottle of wine on the table. “I hope you like white wine”.

“I don’t”.

“Tough”. She reached for the bottle and poured two half glasses. “It’s all I brought”.

“That’s alright. I didn’t come here for the refreshments anyway”, Tobin said, taking the glass from her.

“You didn’t?”

“No”. She took a sip of the wine and hummed her appreciation. “It’s not that bad”.

“I have good taste”, Christen said with a small shrug. “Why did you come?”

“Because you invited me”, Tobin said matter-of-factly.

Christen smiled, eyes curious. “Is that the only reason?”

“No”, Tobin simply said. “What’s for dinner?”, she asked over the brim of her wine glass.

“I only brought dessert. I remembered that you liked sweet things”. Christen lifted the cloth off the two slices of apple crumble. “Looks good, doesn’t it?”

“It does, actually”, Tobin said. She watched as Christen placed her slice on the plate. “Thank you for Fur Elise… I’ve spent hours listening to that music box. I can’t fall asleep without it”.

“Do you think of me when it plays?”

“I do”.

“So you think of my every night before you fall asleep?”, Christen challenged. “Don’t tell on yourself like that”, she teased.

Tobin laughed, albeit nervously, and shook her head. “I do think about you; what of it?”

“What do you think about when you think of me?”, Christen asked.

“Your face mostly”, she said, sticking her fork into the slice of apple pie. “Your letters, too”.

Christen took another sip of her wine and watched Tobin for a few long seconds before she spoke again. “Your letters mean a great deal to me, too. They always find me at the times I need a reprieve the most. And I thought I was the mind reader”.

“I always forget that you can read minds”, Tobin said. “Are you reading my mind right now?”

“I don’t have to”, Christen said. “You have a very expressive face. I know exactly what you’re thinking without having to read to your mind”.

“Can all the Interferers read minds?”, she asked.

“No, just the really special ones”.

“I see”, Tobin said, taking a bite of the dessert. “This apple crumble is delicious. Your good taste is showing once again”.

“I know, right?”, Christen laughed. “And I baked it myself”.

“You did not”.

“I did!”, she called out with a laugh. “I have many talents”.

“Well, I’m impressed”, Tobin said, eyes finding Christen’s again.

“I’m a very impressive woman”, Christen said nonchalantly, taking another sip of wine. “But I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now”.

“I have, actually”, Tobin said. She studied the other soldier closely, took in her features in the orange light of the sunset. “Is that what you are?”

Christen quirked up an eyebrow. “A woman?”

“A human”.

“Oh, well, yes. I mean, our people were human once. I’m a little bit of human, a little bit of plant and a little bit of android”.

“Sounds like sugar, spice and everything nice”, Tobin teased.

“What about you? Are you human?”

“No”, Tobin answered. “I’m a robot”.

Christen’s interest was piqued. She had so many questions to ask, but she wasn’t sure if they were appropriate.

“But I’m a very intelligent robot, and I have a lot of nifty features”, Tobin elaborated. “I can think for myself, even without my microchip. I have the ability to form my own thoughts and emotions”.

“Now that is nifty”, Christen said with a smile. “I don’t know – I feel like creating sentient robots is just asking for trouble, but I guess that’s your Agency’s problem”.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, I just meant that the fact that you’ve got thoughts and emotions of your own – you might decide that you don’t want to fight in this war. You would think that the Agency would create robots whose only purpose it to alter the timelines”.

“We’re more than soldiers; we’re the next step in evolution”, Tobin defended.

“But are you fighting this war because you want to or because you’ve been programmed to?”

“Why are you fighting this war? If you have so much free will?”, Tobin challenged.

“I never said I had free will”, Christen noted.

“So you don’t?”

“No, not really”, she said and looked at the sunset. “I was trained to fight in the Time War, we all were”.

“Don’t you believe in the war?”

“Of course I do”, Christen countered. “I know what we’re doing is right. We have to find a future where we exist, we cannot go extinct. I just… I wish the Time War wasn’t my whole life”.

“I wouldn’t have a life without the Time War or the Agency, so I take what I can get from them”, Tobin said. “I suppose if I was part human, I too would feel like there was more to life than this”.

Christen nodded in agreement. “Maybe”.

“Do you think—do you think there’s going to be a winner one day?”

Christen wore a knowing smile on her face. “There are no winners in war”. She finished the contents of her glass and poured more in. “The Paris Incident”, she then said.

“Oh, what an interesting non-sequitur”, Tobin said with a smirk. “What about it?”

“I still owe you a favour”.

“I thought this dinner was your repayment”.

“No, no, if you read my letter more attentively, you’d know that I said you may choose the form my repayment must take”.

“I’m still thinking about it; give it time”, Tobin said.

“All we have is time”, Christen said, having another sip of wine. ““You know, when I first received your message in a bottle, I thought that this might all be a set-up, an ambush. I thought you might be following me because you had been sent to kill me. It’s happened before”.

Tobin hesitated before her response came. “I wrote that letter with only the purest intentions. In fact, I was the one who felt like I was your target. When you invited me to this dinner, I thought you were sent to get rid of me”.

“And yet you still came”.

“It’s because I’m not afraid of you – if it came down to a battle between the two of us, I know I’d win”.

Christen smirked and pulled her shoulders in a small shrug. “I’m a lot tougher than I look”.

“I’m an android, built to fight in the Time War, don’t forget”.

“I’m part android, too”, Christen reminded her. “Don’t underestimate me”.

“I won’t”, Tobin said, finding Christen’s eyes. “I won’t underestimate you, ever”.

“Smart girl”, Christen said with an askew smirk. “But is that the only reason you decided to come?”

“Yes. What other reason would there be?”

“Intrigue?”

Tobin laughed softly and then sighed as she looked at the other soldier. “I think I’ve figured out how you can repay me for that favour”.

“You have?”

“I have”.

“That fast?”

“Yes”. Tobin dug her fork back into the pie. “Another one of these”.

“The pie?”

“The date”.

Christen choked on the wine. “Is that what this is?”

“Yes”, Tobin said as if though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Is that presumptuous?”

“Very”, Christen said, wiping her mouth with the napkin.

“Well, then I guess I’m presumptuous then”.

“You’re engaged, Elouise”, Christen said teasingly.

“I’m only engaged because I have to be”, Tobin said and reached for the wine bottle.

“Surely you’re programmed to love your fiancé”.

“I am, but that’s only when I’m Elouise Davenport”. She poured herself another drink. “When I’m not, then I don’t”.

“Alright; we can do this again someday”.

“But I get to pick the location”.

“Fair enough”, Christen said with a soft smile

∞

Tobin was called back to the Agency and had been invited to sit in congress while all the Commanders debated what to do next. Several timelines had been wiped from existence; the war had too many casualties already.

“It’s nearly impossible to keep up with Natura and their Interferers. They know our next move before we do”, one Commander said. “We have no other choice but to get rid of them”.

“There won’t be any bloodshed”, a senior Commander said. “Trust me, I’ve been in this war far longer than you and I say we stick to altering the timelines until we rid ourselves of them”.

Tobin listened carefully. She was on the side of the senior Commander. There was no need to resort to violence. Even more so, there was no need to ever hurt the soldiers from the other side, especially when the Time War had so few casualties already.

But she didn’t know how much of her new-found sympathy for the other side was because of her changing morals, or because of one Interferer in particular.

She thought about Christen a lot. She had all these new images of her burned into her memory now. She now had Christen’s face in the sunset of a dying planet, and the way her hands held onto the wine glass. She was so elegant and graceful and – well, she was very beautiful.

“Fine, we’ll stick to the old way, but if we keep losing timelines, we have to make a decision on what to do with the other side”, the Commander said. “But if they keep at it, we’ll have no choice but to hit back”.

∞

Christen climbed the stairs to the second floor of the school building; for some reason she was often tasked with playing the part of a teacher when on these missions.

This time she was an English teacher at a very exclusive private school in Taiwan. She loved the city and the people; and there was something about the Strand and timeline that appeased her, too. There was still a lot of nature, but the technology was pretty advanced, too. This was what Natura wanted for their futures; and she understood why. It gave her new motivation to fight the War and secure the survival of her kind in the world they could make in their image.

But the existence of her people meant to extinction of Tobin’s. And for some reason that left her feeling a bit disconcerting.

She quite liked the other soldier. She was annoying and infuriating and such a big threat to Christen, her people and their way of life. But she was gorgeous and intense in the ways that Christen liked. And when they looked at each other, something serene came over her, and she liked the feeling.

She opened the door to her classroom and froze in place when she saw the message left on the blackboard.

Dearest Christen,

I love seeing you shape young minds – if there was ever a person I would trust with my children, it would for sure be you. You know, the same woman who poisons water supplies and funds French terrorists? Perfect educator.

Of course I’m just making a joke. I know how much you appreciate my decrepit sense of humor. How are you? Read any good books lately? Destroyed any good timelines? Seems as if though more and more doomed planets are appearing. My side blames yours, and I’m sure it’s a bit of vice versa.

I fear that the Agency will take matters into their own hands and turn this War into a brutal battle. I don’t know about you, but I’m not in the mood for combat. I’d much rather travel through the Strands of time, taunting you in these letters. So, this is a warning – don’t cause anymore timeline eradications. There are better ways to win the Time War.

But that’s enough shoptalk. I’d much rather spend the rest of this letter talking about how much I enjoyed our dinner last time. I find you’re a lot nicer in person that in our written correspondence. Maybe throw a dog a bone every once in a while. Or get me another present – I really did love that music box you gave me. It’s a shame I had to leave it behind at the Davenport Manor but know that myself and Elouise kept it safe for six decades. I don’t think I’ve treasured anything more.

If you take away anything from this letter, let it be this: I don’t wish to fight against you because I don’t want us to have to hurt each other. Maybe you can talk to the leaders on your side, have them reconsider their tactics.

I want us to still be caught up in this eternal back-and-forth for eons to come; I think I’m starting to like you.

Stay safe.

Tobin

∞

The next time Tobin got a letter from Christen, she’s a famous singer and the letter comes in the form of fan mail. So, in a trailer on the set of a music video shoot, she rips open a pink envelope with the name ‘Tobin’ on it.

My dearest enemy Agent

I know it’s been a while, I apologize profusely. I’ve been stuck in 1872 and it was not a fun time.

How are you? Are you enjoying fame? Or is fame nothing but a prison? Imagine my surprise when I turned on the television and saw you on MTV’s Total Request Live.

I wanted to pay you a visit, but in this life I’m an old man – not exactly the type to follow pop stars all around the country. So, I’m writing you this letter instead.

It’s always funny to see us living such different lives. I can’t wait for the day when you and I are neighbours. How fun would that be? We would walk our dogs together? Would we plot each other’s murders? It’s fun to think about.

Thank you for the warning – I hadn’t known about the doomed planets and vanishing timelines, and when I brought it up to a superior, she told me that there was nothing Natura could do about it. There is no dolus or culpa from our side. We simply affect the timelines in the ways most suitable for us and if it ends up vanishing, then it was just its time to go.

Our side will continue to respect the treaty that was signed, but if the Agency want to make this war more… traditional… we will defend ourselves.

Know that I don’t want to have to hurt you either; especially not after Finland.

I must admit, I haven’t been the same since our date. I fear you’ve become so much more than just an earworm. I think about you more than I do anything or anyone else. I don’t know why but it’s thrilling and scary at the same time. Am I obsessed? And is the obsession good or bad? I suppose we’ll never know.

I’m glad you liked your gift and that you cherished it so closely. Maybe it’s time you give me something in return. Perhaps then I’ll be kinder in these letters.

I don’t know when we’ll see each other again but know that I’m counting the days until we’re reunited.

Best wishes,

Christen

∞

Christen worked in a fast-food restaurant. She wasn’t embedded, it was just a simple mission – cause a college football team to get sick with food poisoning. It seemed brutal, but them missing their match would set into motion a universe where Natura ruled. She mixed the poison into the tomato sauce that went onto the pizza base and wondered about her side’s grey morality.

That night she walked back to the motel where she had been staying for the last few weeks. She would open a portal back to her base once she got there. But when she walked through the doors, she was stopped by the woman behind the front desk.

“You’re the girl from 102, right?”, she asked.

“Yes”, Christen said.

“This was hand delivered earlier”, the woman said, placing a beautifully wrapped box on the counter.

“Who delivered it?”

“She didn’t give a name, but she was a girl about your age, brown hair, brown eyes”.

Christen smiled and gave a nod. She grabbed the box and headed up the stairs.

Once she was in the privacy of her room, she opened the light pink and mint green box, careful not to rip the pretty wrapping paper. She took off the lid and saw a letter. She placed the letter on her bed and then saw the little teddy bear laying atop a blue sweater.

Dear Christen,

I don’t mind waiting for your letters, but let’s agree that twenty years is just too long. I will try my best to respond to you within a decade, promise.

I’m doing fine, but you were right about fame being a prison. I’m so glad I’m just a lowly construction worker in this life. I don’t have to give interviews, I don’t have to jump up and down on stage for four hours every night. I think I might just like the simple life.

Speaking of which, I really enjoyed thinking about what kind of neighbours we would be. I find myself thinking that you would be the type to call the police every time I play the music too loud. And naturally I would be the petulant neighbour who threw my old leaves in your pool on purpose. Thinking about it again now, I think we’d be the ‘plotting each other’s murders’ kind of neighbours. If not, I imagine we would have a lot of fun together. We could tend to our gardens, we could gossip about our other moms in the neighbourhood, we could go on long walks when we’re tired of our husbands and our children. I would love to sit on the back porch and watch the sunset with you.

I haven’t been the same since Finland either. I think we broke each other, but if that’s the case, then I enjoy being broken by you.

I’ve left a small gift for you. It’s nothing fancy like a music box that plays Beethoven, but I hope you’ll still like it.

The future had never been more uncertain, and that’s a bold statement to make, considering the business we’re in. Look after yourself, enemy. Who knows; maybe we’ll run into each other again soon.

Warm regards,

Tobin

Christen picked up the teddy bear, smiling as she brushed a hand across its furry face.  

∞

Another timeline was about to vanish, another universe about to explode into nothingness – it was a very sharp double-edged sword.

The Agency and Natura were not impressed by the doomed planets. The more universes were destroyed, the more had to be created. And creating universes meant Agents and Interferers having to work double-time – and overworked soldiers were sloppy and made mistakes.

But doomed planets also meant that Tobin could invite Christen to dinner without having to worry about either side finding out of their meetings.

Tobin had planned the perfect dinner. It was in her nature to seek perfection in everything she did; it was how she was programmed, but also how she wanted to be. She picked at the invisible lint on the tablecloth and shifted the wine glass just a millimetre to the right.

“Wow, very extravagant”, Christen’s voice could be heard. When she looked up, the Interferer was stood in the doorway.

“You’re early”, Tobin said, hiding her surprise well.

“I didn’t peg you as the ostentatious type”, Christen said, ignoring Tobin’s statement purposefully.

She wore a black slip dress with matching heels and a simple silver necklace.

“I contain multitudes”, Tobin said, pulling out a chair for the other soldier. “I hope you didn’t have a hard time finding the place”.

“I’ve been here before”, Christen said with a smile, taking her seat. She watched as Tobin opened a bottle of champagne. “Are you celebrating?”

“We are”.

“What are we celebrating?”

The Agent placed the flute in Christen’s hand. “Our reunion”. She sat down, too, and stared at Christen over the top of her glass. “How have you been?”

“Busy”, Christen answered honestly. “But I don’t want to talk about work”.

Tobin laughed softly and had a sip of champagne. “What else is there to talk about?”

“Not a lot, I suppose. Ninety percent of our lives consist out of fighting in the ol’ Time War. There’s no time for much else”.

“And if there was?”, Tobin asked, searching for Christen’s eyes. “What would you do what your time?”

“I’ve never really thought about it”, Christen said. “I imagined that one day, when this war is over and we’ve won, that I’d spend my time watching the sunset with a cup of tea in my hand. If there was just one day where I didn’t have to someone else and just be me – if I could have that life, it’d be perfect”.

“What if the war never ends?”

Christen snickered lowly and then took a sip of her champagne. “I’m starting to think it’s going in that direction. Your side won’t relent, mine won’t either”.

“And now we have all these doomed planets”, Tobin reminded her.

“You don’t still blame Natura for that, do you?”

“It’s strange that it’s happening now”, Tobin said. “Timelines going extinct used to happen once ever couple of decades. Now it’s more like every other year and it’s worrying. The Agency won’t stand for it”.

“We’re not doing anything differently so it can’t be us”.

Tobin sighed softly and ran a finger around the base of the flute. “But let’s not talk about work tonight”.

“Let’s not”, Christen agreed. “Lived any fun lives recently?”

“That’s work”, Tobin pointed out with an askew smile.

“Answer the question”.

Tobin fought the urge to role her eyes – it had been one of the little things humans did that really annoyed her. But Christen was so aggravating, and the perfect person to role ones eyes at. “Nothing too interesting. You?”

Christen considered the question for a few seconds and then asked, “Do the words ‘magic circus’ mean anything to you?”

Tobin stifled a laugh. “You were a magician?”

“A magician’s assistant, I’ll have you know”, Christen snapped back.

“Well”, Tobin began, drinking from her flute of champagne. “That’s very fitting”.

“How come?”

“Because you’re so beautiful”, Tobin said easily, as if though she hadn’t just said the words.

“I wouldn’t have looked like this, you know”, Christen challenged back, trying to skew the power dynamic in her favour once again. “I would’ve been in a vessel”.

“Not to me”, Tobin said, and she smiled when she noticed the soft blush on the other soldier’s cheeks.

“I didn’t come all this way to starve; did you bring food?”

“I did”, Tobin said, pushing out her chair. “Wait right here”.

She hastily walked down the stairs and a minute later she was back with two plates of food.

“You did not”, Christen said when she saw what Tobin had prepared.

“I did”, she said proudly, placing the Chicago-style hotdog with tomato and onion relish on top and fried pickles on the side. “Chicago is no more, but they still had the franks. The rest I had to recreate from memory, but don’t worry; I have a fantastic palette”.

Christen smiled warmly once Tobin was seated again. “You’re full of surprises”.

“I wanted tonight to be special – considering we won’t see each other again for a really long time”.

“Why do you say that?”

“The Agency’s confirmed that every active timeline will remain in place for the next few centuries. No more doomed planets, unless of course, it was done so on purpose”.

“Is that what you did?”, Christen asked. “Is that why we could here tonight?”

“Not on purpose”, Tobin said. “But I knew what the outcome would be if I made that particular play. I knew the outcome with be that we get to share this meal together”.

Christen nodded. “Centuries you say?”

“Several”.

Christen took a moment to process the new information, and in that moment she had thought of a million things at once.  “We can still see each other”.

“In passing, yes. But there won’t ever be enough time for—”

“A date?”

“Oh, is that what this is?”, Tobin asked with a smirk. “How presumptuous of you”.

Christen bit back a smile. “I think we should eat”. She grabbed her fork and knife and cut into the hotdog.

“No, no, no – what are you doing?”, Tobin asked with a mock mortified look on her face.

“We’re in Paris, I’m being fancy”, Christen protested.

“There is no need for that, even here and now”, Tobin said, picking up her hotdog and taking a bite. “You Interferers are so weird”.

“Wait, this is good”, Christen said, surprised at how near to perfect the taste was. “Bit of a whiz in the kitchen, are we?”

“Bit of a whiz in every room in the house”, Tobin said, wiping her mouth with the serviette.

“Cheeky”, Christen said, smiling. “You’re very talented”.

“I’m aware”.

Christen reached for the bottle of bubbly and poured herself another drink. “We have five hours before this universe disintegrates – and I’ve been thinking of ways how we could possibly fill that time”.

“You have?”

“I have”. Christen took a sip of champagne. “But it’s quite… personal”.

“Well, I don’t mind personal”.

“Tell me about the best life you’ve lived”.

Tobin smirked and nodded slowly. This vixen would keep her guessing. “Alright, let’s see – there was the time I was an explorer and I was living on this ship in the Arctic and it was freezing cold every single day and all we ate were dry crackers and whatever fish we could catch”.

“Sounds fabulous”, Christen teased.

“Hold on, I’m getting to the good part”, Tobin said. “I think we spent like, three months on that boat. And then one day, we went back home. After months out in the Arctic circle, we docked in Nantucket – where I was based - and I walked back to the two-bedroom house that I shared with my wife. I walked through the gate and my dog, this big Golden Retriever called Lucky, he just ran up to me, tail wagging; jumped right into my arms and licked my face. No one had ever been that happy to see me. I don’t know if it was because he was a dog, but something about that love felt real to me. I could live a hundred lives and nothing would beat that feeling”.

Christen smiled. “That’s a lovely story”.

“I guess I’ve always just wanted to belong somewhere. Is that painfully unoriginal? The robot who just wants to belong?”

“No, I think it’s… beautiful”, Christen said and slowly reached across the table to touch Tobin’s nails with the tips of her fingers.

The Agent watched her little movement closely, then she abruptly pulled her hand away. Christen looked up into her eyes, wordlessly questioning the action.

“You’re still the enemy”, Tobin explained.

“So you don’t trust me?”

“I never said that”.

“Why did you kill for me if I mean so little to you?”, Christen asked as she looked straight in the Agent’s eyes.

“I didn’t kill him for you”.

“You had no other reason to”.

“I—”

“You heard he was a horrible man; probably heard the rumours that he cheats on his wife and beats her and you wanted to—”

“He hurt you?”, Tobin asked softly.

“Don’t change the subject now”, Christen held, a newfound determination in her voice and demeanor.

“Did he hurt you?”, Tobin asked again, this time with a newfound authority in her voice and demeanor.

Christen sighed softly. “Once or twice, yes”.

Tobin stayed silent for a while and then finally said, “I wish I had known – his death would not have been as painless”.

Christen noticed the way her jaw clenched and how her fingers dug into the table. “So? You admit that you killed him for me?”

“I—I killed him for you”, she finally said, and looked away.

“Thank you being honest”, Christen said with a taunting smile. “And do you kill for all your enemies or just me?”

Tobin bit back a smile and shook her head. “You are relentless”.

“I am”, Christen admitted. “And know that if you ever need me to kill someone for you, I’d gladly return that particular favour”.

Tobin chuckled and gave a certain nod. “I’ll hold you to it”.

“So? Am I your enemy or not?”

“You are”, Tobin held once again, this time with a playful glint in her eye. “But you’re the kind of enemy I’d give a teddy bear to”.

“Charlie is so much than just a teddy bear”, Christen said with a raised brow.

“You did not name the bear”.

“I did”.

Tobin chuckled lowly.

Christen took a sip of her drink and looked out over the city. Paris had burned to the ground, but the Tower still stood, and Tobin had decided that this would be the perfect location for their second date. “Several centuries… sounds long”. She smiled to herself, “Time never mattered before I met you”.

Her words made Tobin look at her, search for her eyes.

“Space didn’t either”, the Agent said.

Christen smiled, wrapping her arms around her to ward off the chill in the air.

“Are you cold?”

“I am”.

Tobin shrugged off the black blazer and moved her chair closer to Christen’s.

“What are you—”

“Don’t ruin it, please”, Tobin said, hanging the blazer on Christen’s shoulders. She moved to fix the collar, not realising just how close they were to each other. “Better?”

Christen’s gaze shifted to her lips, they were oh-so-close and so very inviting. “Much better, thank you”.

“Good”, Tobin said, unable to move away from the other soldier. They were locked in an intense gaze and then she felt Christen’s cold hand against her cheek. She placed her own hand on top of Christen’s in a weak attempt to remove it. But she didn’t because she couldn’t. Even though everything in her told her to run, a new, a different feeling chained her to Christen.

“I can hear your heartbeat”, Christen said softly. “Why do I make you so nervous?”

“I’ve been wondering that since the first time we met”, Tobin said. “But maybe it’s because I know you could kill me if you wanted to. Do you want to?”

“No”, Christen assured. “But I want to kiss you”.

Tobin moved her hand so that it cradled against the slope of the other soldier’s neck. “So kiss me”.

Christen came just a little closer and brushed their lips together in a chaste kiss. When she pulled back, Tobin’s hand moved from the slope of her neck to the back, by her nape.

“No, no – you don’t promise me a kiss and then give me a peck”, she said, gripping at the Interferer’s neck.

A wicked smile appeared on Christen’s mouth. She moved her hand from Tobin’s cheek down to the collar of her white shirt and pulled her closer, this time kissing her the way she wanted to be kissed. She was short of breath when they pulled apart.

“That’s better”, Tobin said.

Christen smiled and used her thumb to wipe her burgundy lipstick off Tobin’s mouth. “Now it’s just several centuries before we get to kiss each other like that again”.

“We still have time before this planet erupts”, Tobin said, pulling Christen closer again.

Chapter Text

Tobin’s Commander was furious. They paced up and down in the Senate Hall as the Agents looked on.

“I don’t understand how this could happen. We planned everything so meticulously, had our statisticians work out the best possible outcomes, and yet, here we are – three timelines worse off than we were last week. They’re taking it too far”.

An Agent raised their hand and the Commander acknowledged them.

“It’s clear that the Natura have no regard for our ceasefire. They’re killing off eventualities that could have belonged to us. It’s against the treaty that was signed”.

“Exactly, 1313. They want to bloody the waters”, the Commander said through gritted teeth.

“We don’t know that for sure”, Tobin spoke up. The room turned to her.

“What did you say, 1117?”

“I just—I think we shouldn’t assume the worst from the Natura, that’s all. They know they’re bound by the treaty. They want peace as much as we do”.

“But see, that’s just the thing”, the Commander said. “We don’t really want peace. If it were up to me, there would be a full-blown war between us and them”.

“They have abilities that we don’t have, Commander”, Tobin argued.

“But we have more numbers and more weapons”, another Agent said.

“They’re afraid of us, they’ve always been”, the Commander said. “That’s why they move in the shadows, that’s why they came to us and asked for a ceasefire”. The Commander shook their head. “I will bring this up in Congress. We must respond to their vicious attacks on timelines that ought to belong to us”.

“Commander, with all due respect—”

“Dismissed. You’re all dismissed”.

Tobin sat back down and watched as the other Agents moved to the exits.

A war, a real one and not a Time War, would be catastrophic. Many will lose their lives, timelines will be altered beyond recognition. The Time War wasn’t ideal, but it was safer. It was a game of cat and mouse, a game of chess. But the cat never caught the mouse, and the player never made the move that would end the chess match. It was a perpetually spinning wheel, and it spared a lot of lives.

“Agent 1117”, the Commander’s voice bellowed through the empty Senate Hall. “Your next mission is in Los Angeles, California, USA, 2002, Strand 161”.

“I’ve received the brief, Commander”, Tobin said, standing up. “It shouldn’t take too long”.

“No, just a simply mercy killing”. The Commander studied the Agent carefully. “Once you’re back, we’ll discuss a new position for you”.

“A new position?”, Tobin asked, eyebrow quirking up.

“Yes, but only once you’re back”.

-

The Agency promoted its best Agents. A promoted Agent got a lot more upgrades and gained a lot more knowledge. A new position would also come with a new security clearance and more intel regarding the Time War. There would even be a chance that she could become a Commander or a General one day.

But a promotion came with a lot of change, and change wasn’t always a good thing.

 She threw on another jacket to ward off the Juneau cold and stepped out onto the porch. It was suppose to be a quick mission and a fast kill. She walked until she reached the barbwire fence of the doublewide trailer she stayed in.

Her mark lived across the street, a drug dealer who had been destroying lives for the last decade. But there was one young and impressionable girl that could not be allowed to fall for his whims. She would one day become the senator and help to pass very important legislation.

Tobin watched as the blinds were drawn and then she walked out the gate and across the street. She banged her fist against the trailer door and a few seconds later, a lanky man with stringy blonde hair opened.

“You’re back”, he mumbled, lighting a cigarette.

“What can I say, you’ve got good shit”, Tobin said. “Can I come in?”

He turned his back and walked into his trailer, Tobin it as an invitation to come in. She sat down on the armrest of the sofa. The trailer was a mess and there was a half-dressed woman passed out on the other couch.

“Is she—”

“She’s just sleeping off a buzz”, the dealer said. “How much money you got?”

“I only got twenty dollars, man”, Tobin said.

“Alright, I can help you out”, he said, taking another toke of his cigarette. “Stay right there”. He walked into the kitchen and Tobin got up to follow him. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the needle.

The Agency had perfected their poison; lethal and non-traceable. It would just look like sudden heart failure.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you to wait out there?”, the dealer asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Changed my mind”, Tobin said, grabbing him by his shirt and kneeing him in the crotch so that he’s doubled over. But before she could stab him with the needle, he grabbed her by the leg.

“Son of a bitch”, he muttered and shoved at Tobin, causing her to stumble backwards.

Before she could regain her footing again, she felt a sharp object poking at her side.

“What the fuck is going on here?”, a woman asked.

“This bastard’s trying to rob us”, the dealer said. He rose to his full length and walked over to where Tobin was kept in place by the woman and her knife. “You know what we do with scumbags like you?

“No, please enlighten me”, Tobin said with a taunting smirk. She got a punch in the face with her troubles.

“Trying to be a smart ass? I’ll fuck you up, boy”.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen”, Tobin said, wiping the blood off her busted lip. They waited for an explanation, but instead she kicked at the man and as he fell backwards, she twisted and grabbed the woman by her throat and shoved her backwards.

“You wouldn’t hit a woman, would you?”, she said.

“I would, actually”, Tobin said and grabbed the knife from her hand and tossed it across the room. “See, it’s more sexist if I don’t hit you”. She grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and slammed her head against the wall, hard enough to cause her to collapse onto the floor. Then she turned her attention back to the man.

He was now armed with a kitchen knife. “I don’t care, I’ll kill you”, he said, launching himself towards Tobin. She managed to dodge his first stab, grabbing his hand in the process. They tussled over the knife, until Tobin decided that she’s tired of the back and forth. Usually she liked to have a little fun before she made a kill, but it had been a long enough day and she was tired of Alaska.

She balled her fist and the human hand was replaced with a titanium one. She grabbed him by his throat and lifted him off his feet, pinning him against the wall. “This has been fun, but I have to go”. She reached for the needle in her back pocket. “And so do you”. She stabbed him in the side of his neck and waiting until she could no longer see life in his eyes, before dropping him onto the floor.

For good measure, and to make sure that there were no loose ends, she injected the woman with the poison, too.

She made a call to the police, before walking across the street to her own abode. When she opened the door, she walked over to the mirror and checked her lip. Reaching around to where her chip was located, she switched between vessels. She got undressed and turned on the shower. She would only have a few more minutes left in this this timeline and she wanted to enjoy the simple things.

After ten or so minutes underneath the sweltering water that rained from the showerhead, she pulled away the curtain and grabbed at the dark blue towel that hung off the railing. Wrapping herself in the towel, she noticed the message written in the steam of the mirror.

My dear Tobin,

I know it’s been a while, and I hope you can forgive me. I’m not one to kiss and disappear, but I’ve had to live with the monks of Nepal and there’s just no way to sneak off and come see you.

How are you? And have you been wondering about me as much as I have about you? Are you happy? Are you healthy? I was supposed to find myself and find inner peace. I was supposed to spend hours a day meditating and seeking the answers to the world’s hardest philosophical questions, but all I could think about was you.

When I closed my eyes, all I could see were your hazel ones and perfect lips. I’d close my eyes and all I’d see was you under the Parisien lights. You even made your way into my dreams, and yes, I dream. I dream of the two of us reuniting in the shade of an old oak tree. I imagine how you’d look at me with those intense eyes of yours and how I would taunt and tease you until I could no longer resist you. And then we’d kiss.

But those are just dreams, and every day I’ve had to live knowing we would not meet again for another few centuries.

Tobin, I miss you. I have never missed anyone or anything in my life, but I miss you now. I cannot live off of the one night we spent in each other’s company. Those kisses can only comfort me for so long. I need to see you again.

I couldn’t stay today; I wasn’t even supposed to be in this Strand, but I knew that you were here and so I knew I had to leave a letter. I needed you to know that you’re always on my mind and that I wouldn’t want it any other way. My memories of you lull me to sleep at night and wake me in the morning. Our kisses fill me and quench my thirst, but they won’t last forever. I fear for the day the memories aren’t enough.

Do you think of me? Am I alone in these feelings? Please don’t let me be.

Write to me. Tell me things.

Yours,

Christen

∞

“You look so beautiful tonight, Jacqueline”, Martin said, appraising his soon-to-be fiancée. “You’re going to be the most beautiful woman at the party tonight”.

Christen sat on the bench in front of her vanity, applying just a little blush before she was ready. “Thank you”.

“What’s wrong, darling? You seem upset”. He walked over to her and kneeled down. “We’re getting engaged tonight. You’re supposed to be over the moon”.

“I am”, she said, cupping his face with her two hands. “I love you and I can’t wait to be your wife”.

“So then why are you so glum?”

“I just… I just miss my family”, she said with a sad smile. “I wish they were here tonight”.

Matin sighed and gave her hand a kiss. “They do not approve of our decision to be together. There’s nothing we can do if they refuse to come around”.

“I know”, Christen said. She turned back to the mirror. “Why don’t you go down and greet the guests? I just have to put on my jewels and I’ll be right down”.

“Do you need help?”, he asked.

“No, I’ll manage”, she said with a smile. “Go”, she shooed him off.

Once he left the bedroom, she sighed and reached for the tennis bracelet kept in the rectangular velvet box. She had all these fineries, wealth that would last five lifetimes, but there was something missing, and the mansion and horses and diamonds couldn’t fill the vacant spot in her heart. She missed Tobin and her letters. She missed all of the teasing and the taunting and the excitement.

Opening the velvet jewelry box, she noticed that the luxury jewellers name had been replaced by new golden engraved lettering. Her heart fluttered like a butterfly’s wings as her eyes scanned the words.

My beautiful enemy

I miss you, too.

Usually I’d start my letters off with a joke or a little taunt, but it’s been too long and there is too much that I want to say to you.

My mind has now become the museum of you. I store all your images, recite all the words you’ve ever said to me like they were gospel. And I think about our kisses, too. They comfort me on days when I fear this war will one day be the end of us all.

Long ago, you wrote that you’d like it if we were neighbours and you joked that we would either be the best of friends or try to kill each other. I don’t think there would be any murders, unless we worked together to get rid of Barb who always brings the same rancid potato salad to the potluck.

We’d walk our dogs in the park while the kids kicked a ball around on the grass. Naturally we’d complain about our husbands, and joke about how we should run off together. But it wouldn’t just be a joke, because we’d both know no one else would make us feel the way we feel when we’re together.

But we’d never leave. We’d love our kids too much, care too much for our husbands despite the fact that they don’t make us happy anymore. So, we stay in suburbia and we share longing gazing across the fences. We pretend to be the best of friends, but at night, when the lights are low and our hearts grow quiet, you’ll be the only one for me and I the only one for you.

But I’m just musing, we’d never had a combined mission like that.

I want us to have one. I want there to be futures and strands where we’re on the same team, even if just for a day. I want there to be eventualities where we get lost in the woods or swim in the middle of the ocean, somewhere only we’d be. Just you and I.

The day when we’re reunited can’t come soon enough.

Yours,

Tobin

∞

Tobin was summoned to her Commander’s office. It was time to talk about her promotion.

She would’ve been ecstatic if things were different. If she was just another Agent fighting in the Time War and not one who had initiated correspondence with a rival soldier. A higher rank meant more upgrades; she’d be stronger and faster and she’d be assigned tougher missions. But it could be at the cost of all the data she had stored away over the last millennium. Data that meant a great deal to her because they contained everything she knew about Christen.

Without that data, she would not know who Christen was or how much she had come to mean to her. She wouldn’t remember their first interaction, or all the letters that they sent to each other. She’d simply have no recollection of those laurel green eyes and the way they so carefully studied her. And that night in Paris, when they kissed for the very first time – it would all just disappear and she’d be rebooted to a newer version of Agent 1117. She wouldn’t be Tobin anymore, and that scared her.

“You asked to see me, Commander”, she said walking into their office.

“Yes. I want to discuss that potential promotion”. The Commander motioned for the Agent to sit. “You’ve really excelled, 1117. You’ve exceeded even my expectations, and they were already quite high. I remember you being such a diligent student. I always knew you would turn into a fine soldier”.

“Thank you, Commander”, Tobin said.

“As you know, we’ve been experiencing some problems with the Natura and their persistence on destroying timelines”.

“I am aware, Commander”.

“The High Council have decided to abide by the treaty that was signed and have made the stupid decision to not end the ceasefire”.

“Clearly you don’t agree”.

“I struggle to see why we must spare our enemy, especially when it’s clear they do not respect us”. The Commander slowly circled the Agent’s chair. “But I am bound by the decisions of the High Council. The only thing I have control over is my legion of soldiers. And you, 1117, you are my best one”.

“That’s high praise, Commander. Thank you”, Tobin said, shifting in her seat a little.

“So, as a reward for all of your hard work, loyalty and dedication to the Agency, I want to promote you to Captain and see to it that you’re upgraded with our latest technologies”.

“Thank you, Commander. Your belief in me has made me the soldier I am today”. A pause. “Exactly what would these upgrades entail?”

The Commander let out a bellowing laugh. “Of course you’d only be concerned with the cool new gadgets. Well, Captain 1117, that you would have to ask the scientists. I’m only the bearer of the good news, I’m afraid”.

“But would I… would I have to be fully reset?”

“Goes without saying, does it not?”

“Yes, but, Commander, forgive my arrogance – would it not be more beneficial to me, to our side, if Captains were allowed to retain all of the practical experiences gained on our previous missions? I mean, even with enhanced technology, a full factory reset would mean that I’d be as naïve as a… bird just kicked out of the nest”. She stood up and turned to the Commander. “There must be a way where I can still retain my core knowledge”.

“There is”, the Commander then said. “Usually the High Council only allows for Generals to do so, but I will bring it up at the next Council meeting”.

“And would it be alright if I waited until that meeting before I get my upgrade?”

“You are asking for a lot, 1117. Never overplay your hand”.

“Of course, Commander”.

-

Luckily for Tobin, a violent war was happening in Strand 9801, so she was called into action immediately. Her upgrade would have to wait.

She was given the vessel of a scrawny soldier, whose green helmet looked too big for her. She trekked across the forested lands, stepping through puddles and slipping in mud. It was dark everywhere and no one knew where the enemy was or what would happen if they were caught in one of their traps.

After a while, she stopped to rest against a tree and when she heard gunshots in the distance, she slid down to the ground and sat in the dark, looking over the murky waters of the river passing through.

Then, as if it were a beacon of light in her darkness, she spotted something shiny in the murky waters. A glass bottle drifted pass ever-so-slowly.

She crawled over, unsure if there were enemy eyes on her. When she reached the river, she grabbed the bottle, opened it carefully and unrolled the paper inside. Her eyes glided over the page, and as she read, a small smile spread on her lips.

My dearest Enemy

Your letter pulled me out of a darkness, I’m hoping mine will do the same for you.

I thought I’d take a page from your book and send you a message in a bottle. I’ve always found the idea of preserving a letter in a glass bottle so that it may travel by wave and tide and find its way to the one who was always supposed to find it. Know that all my letters will always find you and only you.

To know that you’ve missed me as much as you’ve missed you – it’s an indescribable delight. When you said that your mind had become the museum of me, I took a sharp intake of breath and it felt as if though the blood and sap in my veins become electricity, making me buzz inside. You make my heart beat in rhythms I didn’t even know it could.

The picture you painted of us; it seemed so tragic at first. We would live our lives near but far from each other. Longing and yearning but never together. But it’s not tragic at all. Because in that life, however brief our missions might be, we’d get to spend time together. We could do everything you write about, even the homicide of Barb, who’s mildly racist anyway, and we could be happy – couldn’t we?

I miss you more and more with each passing day, week, month and year. I want us to meet in every beautiful place there is and I want you to tell me all of your stories and share your memories, so that I may know who you were and who you are. I have all of the knowledge in the world, but I want to know you – I want to learn things that are uniquely you and I want you to hold me and kiss me like you did that night.

Like you, I hold onto the moments we’ve shared and the memories we’ve made together. There is still so much we could make together; I have a strong suspicion that we will meet again one day, but that day cannot come soon enough.

Look after yourself, Tobin. Win this war and then the next. Then, when the stars align for us, let me find you.

Sincerely yours,

Christen

Tobin held the letter close to her chest in the dark. As the rain began to pour down, she lied on her back on the jungle floor, clutching at the piece of paper and smiling up at the night sky.

∞

Christen was back at Natura’s home base, walking through the greenhouse and watching the Gardeners tend to the plants that would one day become Interferers. She looked up at the roof of the greenhouse and watched the rain hit the glass. She wondered where Tobin was, and what she was doing.

“Hello”, a sprite voice called out. When she turned, she found that one of the Gardeners had walked up to her.

“Good morning”, she said. “I haven’t been here in such a long time. I didn’t know we were growing so many new Natura”.

“The war calls for it”, she said and watered the plant next to Christen.

“How long have you been working here, sister?”, Christen asked.

“Seventeen hundred years”, she said with a smile. “I knew you when you were just a seedling. I watched you sprout and grow into the soldier before me today”.

Christen smiled along with her. “But this war, sister… Do you think it’ll ever end?”

She gave a little chortle. “Why do you ask me?”

“You’re wise; and I need wisdom right now”, Christen spoke softly. “Please tell me there’s an end in sight”.

The Gardener placed a gentle hand on Christen’s shoulder, giving her some comfort. “This war is the only thing keeping us alive, remember that”.

Christen gave a nod. “I just wanted to see how the children were doing”, she said. “I have a mission to go on”, she said.

“Be safe”, the Gardener said. “We’re not like the other side – we can die”.

“I know, and I’ll try to come back in one piece”.

-

There was something sinister about the convent and it was Christen, or Sister Mary-Elizabeth, who was tasked to find it and get rid of it.

During the day she would try her best to snoop in between giving classes to the orphans, because she could not move around at night. The nuns were locked up in their rooms with no way of getting out. Christen found it hard to believe that this was 1977 and not 1799.

She got out of the lukewarm bath and wiped herself dry with the hand towelette she was given upon her arrival. The air in the bathroom was cold and harsh on her thin skin. She walked over to the sliver of a mirror on the wall and grazed her fingertips along her pale skin.

“Sister Mary-Elizabeth, it’s lights out in five minutes”, a young nun said, poking her head in the bathroom.

“Thank you, sister Joy”, Christen said and gave a smile as she looked over her shoulder. She pulled her white nightgown over her head and padded with bare feet across the cold floors.

The nuns slept in rooms of six, with the beds arranged in a half-circle. She found her bed, the one nearest to the window, and kneeled next to it.

Sister Abigail was supposed to lead them in prayer tonight. When she began, Christen didn’t bow her head or close her eyes, instead she looked around the room for a possible escape route. As her eyes scanned the room, something in her periphery made her snap her head toward the window. She got to her feet slowly and careful not to make any noise. She walked toward the window and saw the letter taped to the glass.

My darling enemy

With each day that passes, I miss you more and more.

I was in the deepest, darkest jungle and you found me. You and I always find each other, no matter where we are. I think there might be an invisible string, keeping us from straying too far from each other.

We won the war; not this one, but the one you last found me in. And in our victory and celebrations, all I could think of was you.

I’m scared, Christen. The powers that be have selected me to get a promotion and with a promotion comes new software. My memories will be wiped completely and I will no longer remember you or the letters we’ve sent across centuries and different Strands of the universe. That’s the last thing I want, believe me. I want to have you in my mind when I go to sleep at night and when I wake up in the morning. I want to be a chase you and find you over and over again. I want to know you and continue to know you.

But I’ve never been in control of my destiny. The Agency gives and it takes and there is nothing I can do about it. I have no free will.

If I did, I would be where you are right now. I would want to kiss you and hold you until we fell asleep. I would want to learn all of your intricacies, I would want you to teach me.

I don’t know what happens next, maybe you do. But if we never meet again, or if I’ve lost every memory of you, please just always remember me.

Yours,

Tobin

P.S 4422112244

A gust of wind blew the letter away before she could read it again, and just as Sister Abigail said ‘amen’, Christen was back on her knees by her bed.

∞

Tobin was accompanied to the laboratory by two scientist and her Commander. She was about to undergo her reprogramming.

The Council had decided that it would be best to wipe her internal memory. If she was a more powerful agent with so much on-the-ground knowledge, she’d be a little too powerful and they could not have soldiers threatening their authority.

She was placed on a metal table and operated on for an hour, all under the supervision of her Commander.

While it was happening, she was powered off and rendered a metal husk with no conscience.

When she was powered on again, and her eyes opened slowly. She took in the lab and the figures around her.

“How do you feel, 1117?”, her Commander asked.

“Stronger”, she said as she sat up. “I know things, but I don’t remember how I know them”.

“Then the upgrade worked”, the Commander said. “You’ll take a little while to get used to the new abilities, but you should be ready for your next mission by tomorrow”. They spun around and walked out of the lab, leaving Tobin and the scientists behind.

“How long until I stop feeling as if though I’m forgetting something? Something really important?”, she asked.

“An hour, maybe two. It is quite normal to feel that way. You had things stored in your personal data that you were used to having access to that aren’t there anymore. But don’t worry, soon you’ll forget what you even forgot”.

The quiet in the room felt menacing, but Tobin didn’t know why.

“You heard your Commander, rest up. You have work to do tomorrow”.

-

The next morning Tobin woke up at five, the time to which her internal clock was set. She walked out of the laboratory, down the corridor with it’s dark blue floors and white, fluorescent lighting. She knocked on the Commander’s door and was called in.

“Agent 1117, you look like you’re ready for you next mission”.

“I am”, she said with a diligent nod.

“And what about remembering what you cannot remember?”, the Commander enquired.

“No longer an issue, Commander. My mind is clear to fight once again. This is a war for time, is it not? Let’s not waste it”.

∞

Christen tried her hardest to find Tobin. She searched the Strands, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but she was nowhere and no one. It took her ten years just to get her scent – Strand 118, 2010. She rushed there despite the fact that her mission was in Strand 234. She knew it might be the only chance to see Tobin again.

She walked up the staircase and when she reached Tobin’s motel door, she pushed it open, finding the Agent by her suitcase, unpacking a few pieces of clothing. She closed the door behind her.

“Who are you?”, Tobin asked, turning so she could face the stranger.

Christen swallowed deep, realising that Tobin no longer recognized her. “We knew each other, a long time ago”, she said.

“I think you might have the wrong room”, Tobin said. “I’m not from here”.

“I know”, Christen said. She leapt across the room and jumped on the other soldier, bringing her down to the floor.

Tobin’s stronger than her; she grabbed her wrists and turned them around so she was the one straddling Christen.

“Who are you? What do you want?”, she asked through gritted teeth.

“I don’t want to hurt you”, Christen said and headbutted Tobin.

The brunette soldier’s hand immediately reached for her nose because she could feel blood coming out. It gave Christen the opportunity to escape from underneath her. She kicked Tobin’s chest, causing her to fall backward, and then she climbed on top of her, hands grabbing at her shirt. “Just listen to me!”

Tobin shoved at her, growing frustrated with the tenacious little fighter. She balled her fist up and when she opened her hand again, her fingers had been replaced with sharp metal claws. “Time to end this”, she spat and lashed out toward Christen, who was quick enough to dodge the first onslaught.

“I didn’t want to have to do this, but…”, Christen placed her hand over Tobin’s nose and mouth. Just then, she felt the sharp pain as five titanium knives dig into her back.

But Tobin’s passed out on the floor before she was.

“Fuck”, the Interferer murmured, reaching to see if there was blood. There was a lot. She still managed to crawl over to the passed-out Agent, turning her over so that she could see where her microchip had been planted.

At first glance there was nothing to see, but she gently stroked her nape and the system appeared.

“I hope this works”, she said softly as she typed the numbers into the system. The sharp pain in her back was too much too take, she couldn’t stay to see if it worked. She typed on her watch, opening a portal back to Natura.

-

“What happened?”, her nurse asked.

“I was careless”, she said and sucked air between her teeth when the nurse tended to her wounds.

“You’re never careless”.

“Anyone can have an off day”, Christen said, breathing out slowly.

“Rather you than me”, the nurse said. “Alright, you’re all good. The wounds should heal soon”.

“Thank you”, Christen said. She watched as the nurse left her room, and she reached for the glass of water by the bedside table. She drank all of the contents, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

She thought of Tobin. She wondered if their plan worked. There was no way of knowing, not while she was at the homebase. She needed to go on her new mission, find a Strand where she could re-group and try to find Tobin.

She pulled a white tank top over her head and slowly made her way to the door. She was stopped when her nurse came back in.

“You’re on bed rest, no excursions for you”, she said and led Christen back to her bed. “Your wounds will heal faster with rest”.

“You don’t understand, I have to go. I have to find—there’s still a war going on and Natura needs me”.

“Yes, they do, but they need you fit and healthy first”. The nurse made sure that Christen was down on the bed. She reached into her coat and took out a syringe with a blue-ish coloured liquid. “This will help you rest”.

“No, no, I don’t want—”

She was injected before she could even finish her protest.

-

When Christen woke up, her body still felt numb from the neck down. She managed to move her fingers, then her arm. Finally, she sat up, reaching for her watch. She needed to leave – it didn’t matter where she went, as long as she could be an active soldier again. She set the watch to Strand 1003, pressing on whatever year.

But no portal appeared. She pressed it again to no avail.

“Come on, work!”, she said through gritted teeth.

Growing more and more frustrated, she slammed her watch down on the bedside table and kicked the covers off. She moved towards the door, letting out a grunt of frustration when she realised it was locked.

She was wrong to ever think that Natura cared about her freedom. There was no freedom here. She was just a pawn in their great game of chess with the other side. Just like Tobin, she had no free will.

She walked to the window, staring out and watching the children run around on the lawns. She was that young once, but she wasn’t as joyful as them – she was sick, invested with a disease that rendered her bedridden. It was only until one of the doctors performed a transfusion that she could enjoy her youth.

One of the little girls noticed her and waved at her, she lifted her hand to wave back.

She looked over her shoulder when she heard her door unlocking. Her nurse walked in with a huge smile on her face.

“You’re up, wonderful”.

“Why isn’t my watch working?”, Christen asked.

“You’re not activated yet”, the nurse explained. “Come now, it’s time for your medicine”.

“I don’t want medicine”, Christen countered. “I want to be let go. You can’t keep me here”.

“We’re not keeping you, Christen. We’re tending to you. We’re making sure you’re 100% before we send you off again. Surely you understand”.

“I do, and I appreciate your care”, she spat the last word out. “But I feel better now. I have to go – I have to fight for my side, so that all of us can exist in the future”. She motioned to the windows. “Those kids, they need me to fight in the Time War so that our way of life is preserved”. She walked over to the bedside table and held out her watch. “Activate this. Now”.

The nurse tentatively reached for the watch. “I’ll have to take it to the lab—”

“Then go. I’ll get ready”, she said, sauntering off to the adjacent bathroom.

Twenty minutes later she was dressed in a black cargo pants and boots and a white tank top, with her hair tied in a ponytail. She waited with her arms crossed, and when the door opened she moved forward. “My watch?”

The nurse handed it back to her. “They’re not happy with your demands. They don’t think you’re ready”.

“I’ll decide when I’m ready”, she said as she tightened the watch on her wrist.

“Your mission”, the nurse said, holding out a piece of paper.

Christen took the paper and gave it a glance before crumbling it up and tossing it over to the side. “I’m going to the lab for a vessel – think they’d be okay with that?”

-

Ancient Rome, 642 B.C.

Christen was imbedded as a young diplomat from Egypt, coming to Rome to celebrate the coronation of its new king. She had heard of the powerful interrex, Ancus, but her instructions were not to kill him. Instead, she had to kill his future consort, the woman that would make him wage war against the Latins.

She walked up the steps of the Roman Senate building, being greeted by young woman, all looking for a handsome diplomat to escort them to the coronation. In order to assimilate, she walked up to one of the women and held out her hand.

“Would you like to accompany me tonight?”, she asked in Latin.

The red-haired woman nodded and grabbed hold of her hand.

They walked through the doors, finding themselves in the middle of a sparkling bacchanal.

Christen told her date that she would just greet the members of the Senate. She snaked her way through the boisterous crowd, looking for the woman she was supposed to kill.

Instead, she saw the king in waiting. Except, it was Tobin that she saw from across the room, surrounded by Rome’s most powerful men. She swallowed hard and for a few seconds she was frozen in place. She snapped out of the trance and moved towards the king.

Tobin had been talking to one of the statesmen, laughing at a joke he had made, but when her eyes caught sight of Christen, her face changed. She stopped listening to the men around her and kept her gaze locked with the other soldier’s.

“Good evening, gentlemen”, she greeted. “Rex Ancus”, she said with a little bow. “I came all the way from Alexandria to celebrate with you tonight”.

“A foreign dignitary”, one of the men said. “How are things in Egypt?”

“Prosperous”, she said, keeping her eyes locked with Tobin’s. “We’re very fortunate”.

“Gentlemen, would you please excuse us. I have much to discuss with our friend from across the ocean”, she said just loud enough for them to hear.

“Are you sure, Ancus?”, a Senator asked.

“Leave”, Tobin commanded.

Once they were alone, she left out a soft sigh and reached for Christen’s hand. “It’s so good to see you”, she said softly.

“You, too”. Christen gave her hand a squeeze. “Could we go somewhere more private?”

“I would think the king can get what he wants”, she said and looked around the room. “Everyone’s preoccupied with food and drink and women – come with me”.

She led Christen up a staircase that stretched up until forever. She then instructed the guard to open the door to her chambers. Once they were inside and the door behind them was closed, Christen jumped into her arms to hug her as tight as she could.

“I missed you”.

“I missed you, too”, Tobin said with a soft chuckle. “I’ve been looking for you, I’ve been trying to send you letters, but I couldn’t figure out where you were”.

“Natura”, she explained. “Time works differently there. I may have only been out of commission for a day or two but it might as well have been a decade”.

Tobin nodded, holding both of Christen’s hands. “You fixed me”.

“I wasn’t even sure if it worked”, she said.

“I woke up on the floor of that motel with all of our memories back where they belonged”, Tobin said. “Thank you”.

“Of course”, Christen said. She reached so her palm brushed against Tobin’s cheek. “I didn’t want to lose you”.

“I didn’t want to lose you either”, the Agent said. “And I’m sorry that I had to hurt you. I didn’t have the foggiest idea of who you were and my instinct took over”.

“I understand, Tobin”, Christen assured her. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You’re here and you know who I am”, she said. She wrapped her arms around the other soldier again and rested her head against her chest.

“How are we on the same mission? Do our sides know about this?”, Tobin asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure they would’ve said something if they’d known”, Christen said. “I don’t want to talk about them right now, I just want to kiss you”.

“Then kiss me”, Tobin said with a soft laugh.

Christen cupped her face and kissed her with all the passion she could muster. She felt Tobin’s hands move down her back. She grabbed her by her waist and lifted her up, walking her over to the chaise lounge.

She let her down gently, breaking the kiss so she could place pecks in her neck. She pulled back, seeking permission. When Christen gave a nod, she moved to pull at the expensive linen wraparound kilt.

Christen shrugged off the gold and blue robes from her shoulders, revealing her naked chest.

Tobin, who had been kneeling by her side, cast her eyes on her bare chest and tentatively moved to cup a hand around her petite breast. She leaned down and kissed her again, hungrily biting down at her lip as her hand gently kneed the soft flesh.

Christen moaned softly, reaching to grab a fistful of brown hair. “Bed me”, she pleaded.

“Are you sure?”, the Agent asked, searching for her green-grey eyes.

“I am”, she breathed out. “I want you”.

Tobin did not hesitate or protest. She swooped the Interferer into her arms and carried her over to the bed, covered with maroon sheets and gold appliques. She set her down gently, then pulled off her own royal garb until she stood naked in front of the soldier.

She crawled onto the bed and on top of Christen. “What do you want from me?”, she asked, leaving lingering kisses on her neck.

“Give me pleasure, but make it hurt”, she said.

Tobin raised an eyebrow, but then a wicked smile spread across her face. She kissed all the way down to her navel, then she dragged her tongue down towards her centre. She dug her nails into Christen’s sides and smiled when she heard the sharp intake of breath from her.

-

There was not a lot of time for pillow talk, but Christen still laid with her head on Tobin’s chest, matching their heartbeats with each other’s.

“You are a whiz in the other rooms”, she said and got a laugh from Tobin in return.

The brunette placed a kiss on her forehead as her hand travelled down Christen’s naked back. She stopped when she felt the scars.

“Turn around”, she instructed softly.

“I don’t think we have time”, Christen said.

“No, not like that”. Tobin moved her onto her stomach and then carefully studied the claw marks and scars on her back. “D-did I do this?”

“You didn’t know”, Christen began.

“Still”, Tobin said, grazing over the marks. “I’m really sorry. I never wanna hurt you”.

“The scars will go away”, Christen ensured. “The only thing that matters is that you’re here – with me”.

Tobin moved so she could leave kisses all over the wounds. She kissed all the way up to Christen’s shoulder blade, and whispered in her ear, “You look so good naked”.

Christen spun herself around so she was on her back, she grabbed Tobin by the chin and kissed her again. “We should go back down, I’m sure everyone’s looking for their king”, she said as they pulled apart.

“I’m no king”, she said, combing a hand through her hair. “I know what I’m supposed to do, but I don’t wanna do it”.

“You have to”, Christen said.

“Why would I start a war when I don’t even wanna fight in this one?”, she asked, shaking her head.

Christen sat up, covering her nudity with the deep red sheets. “You’ll make a great ruler”. She lifted Tobin’s chin and kissed her again. “Power looks good on you”.

Tobin’s lips brushed against hers. “Who knows when I’ll have you like this again”, she spoke quietly into Christen’s mouth, trailing her finger down her chest. “What will I do without you?”

“You’re a king now”, she spoke softly. “You’ll find your queen”.

“I’ve found her already”, she said, brows furrowed together in a frown. “She just can’t stay”.

Christen’s palm reached out and nestled gently by her cheek. They’ll never have enough time. She smiled at the irony and kissed her.

Chapter Text

The mission had been simple – plant evidence of a murder on a man that had spent his life evading justice. The consequences would be far-reaching and positive for the Agency.

Tobin dug a spoon into her halo-halo and tasted the bright purple yam and savoured the sweet flavour.

She liked this Strand – there was a sense of promise in the air. She thew a couple of notes on the table and walked back to her hotel room. The heavy air was hot and left the vessel covered in a thin layer of sweat. She unbuttoned the first three buttons of her bright orange shirt with the pink flamingos on and walked down the palm tree ladened streets until she reached the hotel she was staying at.

She trudged her way up the stairs and pushed her door open, finding a fruit basket by the foot of her bed. She looked around the room and saw nothing. No one.

It had to be Christen.

Tobin ripped the plastic off the basket and noticed the card with her name at the top. Smiling, she read the card.

My sweet girl

I know it’s been ten years since we last spoke, but I’m finding it harder and harder to trace your steps. It used to be so easy – hearing you move from Strand to Strand, year to year. Now, I have to meditate long and hard to reach you.

To say that I’ve missed you would be the understatement of the decade. I’ve longed for you in ways I didn’t even know I could. I want to look into your eyes and see you looking back. I want to feel your skin underneath my hands, your lips by the pulse of my neck.

I won’t see you again for a very long time – Natura have called us all in. I think it might have something to do with those doomed planets; they’re showing up again. I know I’m supposed to be annoyed that we’re losing timelines, but you know what those planets mean for us, right?

We could be reunited once again. I could hold you and kiss you as much as I desire – as much as you want me to.

Until then, keep safe.

Yours in earnest,

Christen

∞

Christen stood at the back of the garden, arms crossed as she listened to her superiors speak.

The meeting had been called because there were a new batch of doomed planets that their sonars had picked up. Natura were worried.

Doomed planets had the ability to create something that both sides feared – Time Loops. The last thing they wanted were Time Loops. No one could win in a loop. It would be the same day, over and over again. There was no escape – once someone entered the loop, they would be stuck in it in all perpetuity. To lose soldiers in a loop would be a great loss.

“We can no longer sit back at have the Agency alter timelines to the point of no return”, the Head Mistress said. “We must strike them”.

“But we’ve signed a treaty. We cannot attack them”, a young Interferer said.

“The treaty doesn’t matter anymore. They won’t listen to reason; they’ll keep on creating these doomed planets until there is nothing left”. The Head Mistress looked around the garden until she spotted Christen. “Daughter, surely you understand that we must protect our future”.

“I do, Head Mistress, but…” She hesitated as all eyes were on her. “They are so much more advanced than us. Their Agents are weapons, programmed to kill and show no remorse for it”. She choked up on that last part. It wasn’t true. The Agents weren’t just soulless robots sent to kill – they could feel things, they could love.

But she must remain in the good graces of her side’s very highest ranked. “We have to be strategic. That’s how all battles are truly won. The smartest side survives”. She stepped forward. “We cannot go into a war unarmed. We must arm ourselves with knowledge of the other side. Put together all we know about them and devise a strategy. We have to out-manoeuvre them; it’s the only way we’ll win”.

“Wise words, dear daughter”. She clasped her hands together. “One day the wise will inherit the Earth”, she called out to the sky. “And then, Christen my dear, you’ll sit at my right hand”.

The meeting was dismissed, but Christen didn’t leave the garden. She stayed, walking along the little pathways, wandering so far that she reached her old pod. She trailed her hand along the greenery, trying to remember something, anything about her blossoming.

She knew she was born sick, that all the gardeners thought she would die. But a doctor managed to save her life.

No one was born sick – she remembered the nurses and gardeners talking about it. She had been the first and last to be born sick.

Interferers were not immortal, but they could live for a decem millennium, if they took care of themselves. Christen was somewhere close to 900 years old already, and even though it was the prime of her youth, she was worried. If she got sick once, she could get sick again.

She felt her throat closing and she stammered backwards. She couldn’t die, not yet. She levelled her breathing, closed her eyes and calmed herself.

She thought of Tobin, of the letter she left for her in Manila. She wished they were together right now. She wondered if Tobin had tried to write to her, and she mourned for the letters she never received.

-

She lives until the age of twenty-seven as Ludwika Kalinowski, a Polish tennis star without ever crossing paths with Tobin. Until one crisp London morning, while preparing for a tennis event where she would win first prize and become a beacon of hope for a generation of Polish women who have lost their rights, she walked out onto the court and watched as her coach loaded balls into the machine for her to practice.

The first few come to her and she hits them beautifully, but the third is a little too slow and she reaches to catch it with one hand.

The fluorescent lime ball had black magic marker written on it.

My dearest Christen

Thank you for the assortment of fruits, they were delicious. I must say, however, that is just wasn’t as sweet as the last time I ate something of yours. I’m of course talking about the delicious apple pie you baked.

I trust you’re doing well and that time back at the home base did you some good.

Things are topsy-turvy here at the Agency. Seems like we’re in for another one of those doomed planet witch hunts. My Commander is furious and blaming your side – nothing new. I fear this War will escalate and I don’t know what that will mean for us.

I’m a Captain now; it means that I have access to more information, things are becoming less classified for me. But these new responsibilities mean that I’ll see even less of you, and that’s the last thing I want.

Right now I’m probably somewhere across the Strands, trying to live my life as a simple baker in a small town in Ireland, or whatever – frankly I don’t care what I’m doing right now, all I know is that I’m thinking of you.

I think of Rome, often. And when I do, I catch myself daydreaming of the way your naked body glowed in the candlelight.

But, let me not wander off down that path, or else this letter never ends.

Do you even know how much I miss you? Time stands still when I think about your face, and I’m lost in a reverie of you.

Take care, my sweet enemy. And trust in your heart that we’ll meet again soon.

Yours,

Tobin

∞

Tobin nursed her longing heart with cheap whiskey in a dive bar on the side of the road in the Albequeque, New Mexico.

“Can I get you another one, sonny?”, the old barman asked.

“Sure, I got nowhere to be”, Tobin said.

In this life she was Steve Kennard, a mild-mannered prison guard. Her mission was to make sure that a trail-awaiting felon didn’t hang himself in his cell, and she had succeeded.

But there was no point in going back to the Agency so soon. She thought she would stay for a couple of hours and drink away the pain of missing Christen.

“What’s got you down?”, the balding barman with the thick white beard asked. “When a man looks like that it’s always women trouble”.

“It is”, Tobin said with a low chuckle.

“Well, what’s the matter?”

“She’s… she’s on the other side of the world”, Tobin said and took a sip of her liquor. “I never get to see her and I… I just really miss her, you know?”

“There’s plenty of women out there”, the old man said.

“I don’t want anyone else”, Tobin said, staring into her glass. “Just her”.

“And what makes her so special?”

“I don’t even know where to begin”, Tobin said, smiling when she thought about the enemy agent, with her grey-green eyes and perfect lips. “She challenges me – makes me think deeper about things. She’s smarter than me and she knows it, too”. She momentarily closed her eyes. “She’s beautiful, eyes like a spring fountain, with lips that tastes just like maple syrup”.

“She sounds like quite the girl”, the barman said, wiping off the counter. “Why don’t you go and visit her? Save up some money for a ticket and surprise her?”

“It’s not that simple”, Tobin said and gave a small smile. “If it were, I’d be with her right now”.

“Then I don’t know what to tell you; if you really love someone a little distance shouldn’t be keeping you apart”.

“I suppose”, Tobin said and finished the rest of her drink in silence.

She never knew just how attached she had gotten to Christen, but then Paris happened.

That night, that kiss, the admission that she killed for her – nothing would ever be the same after that. They both knew it. And then Rome happened, and everything started making sense again. Of course she would risk everything for this woman. This gorgeous and dangerous woman with the skin that felt like the inside of a rose.

“Here”, the old man said, placing another tumbler whiskey in front of her.

“I didn’t order another”, Tobin said.

“No, but she did”, he said and nodded towards the back of the bar.

When Tobin turned to look, there was no one there. “Did you see the woman who sent this?”, she asked.

“Yeah, about this tall”, he showed with his hand. “Pretty eyes, and she didn’t look bad from behind either”.

Tobin opened her mouth to speak, but then she saw the writing on napkin underneath the drink, she quickly removed the glass and allowed her eyes to scan over the words.

Loveliest enemy,

You nearly had me in the first half – I thought your letter was veering into a more explicit nature (not that I would have minded, you know). Your attempts at humour do humour me, so I suppose you’re doing a good job.

I think the new title of Captain suits you just right. But I know Captains have more protection afforded to them – more control from home base to make sure they’re safe. I thought you might have trackers on you, so I opted not to stay for a drink.

Natura still respects the peace treaty that was signed, but if your side were to launch an attack on ours – we would retaliate.

I don’t want this War to get violent, I hope you know that. If there was a way for all of us to get what we want, then I would be the first to fight for that side.

I don’t know who’s wiping these timelines, my side don’t know either. But if it’s not us and you say it’s not you then maybe we are dealing with a new force – someone who wants us to fight each other so that they could stage a coup. Whatever it is, it’s starting to worry me,l and I don’t want to feel worry. I want to feel joy, I want to feel love.

I want to live in that night in Rome forever. I want to feel your hands all over me and feel your breath on my skin as you kiss me and bring me to pleasure in ways I’ve never experienced before. When I close my eyes, I can see you so vividly.

At night, when I’m embedded and even when I’m not, I reach between my legs, imagine that it’s you and bite back your name before it escapes my mouth. I want to kiss and hold you again, trace my finger down your chest until I get to touch the warmest part of you.

I know how much you miss because I miss you just as much. I wish that I could’ve stayed tonight, but these are troubled times and I need to be careful, we both do.

I’ve never had faith in anything, but I have faith that we’ll find a way to see each other again soon.

Look after yourself, Captain.

Yours,

Christen

=

Christen picked up the singles off the stage – some of these guys were real cheapskates.

“How about an encore?”, one drunk asshole yelled out and his friends egged him on.

“How about next time you tip with a bill higher than  your IQ”, she retorted, waving the dollar bill in the air.

She walked backstage and sat on the worn red couch, counting her tips for the night.

“Don’t worry, on Friday we get the lawyers, and they tip very well. It’s an ego thing”, Alex said. She was a dancer at the club, too, a very good one at that. She was trying to put herself through college, and dancing was an easy way to get cash while still going to class during the day.

“I don’t think I’m any good”, Christen, or Lucy Jones, said. “I’ve been here for three nights and I’ve made two hundred at most.

“The guys are cheap, okay. This isn’t one of those fancy places where the doctors, or the rappers or the ballers hangout. We’re lucky if we get the lawyers and the gay girls. Lawyers pay ‘cos of their egos and the gay girls pay ‘cos they’re in love”.

Christen managed a smile. “Thanks for the words of encouragement”.

“Don’t sweat it”, the dark-haired woman said with a wink. “Oeh, I’m up next. See you in a bit, okay?”

“Have fun”, Christen called out after her.

There were a few other girls either getting ready to go on stage, or getting ready to go home. Christen started picking through her bills, again, pausing when she noticed the hundred with black writing on it. She swallowed hard, finger grazing over the words as she read them.

My sexy enemy,

I had planned to leave you a letter on your dresser, but when I came in a bit too late and you were already on the stage. So, I decided to stay for a bit and watch you. I hope you don’t mind.

I was mesmerised by the way your body moved. And I mean your body – the one I so lovingly embraced in Rome. The one that trembled under my lips. I had written so many things in my first letter, but now I’m at a loss for words – how do you do this to me? I want to hold you again, I want to kiss those soft maple lips and hear you call my name.

It’s a risk, I know, but we must try. I want to see you, I need to see you. I will find a doomed planet, we’ll go there, we’ll spend whatever time we have in each other’s arms.

My word is good, Christen.

In the meantime, look after yourself.

Yours,

Tobin.

=

Harry Cassidy’s been shot and he’s bleeding to death.

Tobin isn’t.

When a vessel is mortally wounded, it dies just a s a human would, but an Agent’s consciousness reverts back to the Agency, where they will be uploaded into a new temporary mechanical form.

So as she bleeds from her gut, dying at the hands of a treacherous lover, she thought of death. She wondered if it hurt. She would never die, so it didn’t bother her that much, but now – after meeting someone who could – she wonders about death a lot.

She hoped there was some sort of afterlife – a perfect paradise where you could not experience pain or discomfort.

Then, everything went dark and quiet. When she opens her eyes, she’s back on the metal table in the Agency’s lab. Two scientists hover over her.

“Welcome back, Captain”, the one said.

“How long was I out for?”, she asked, sitting up and looking around the lab.

“A few hours”, the other one said. “But don’t worry, you’re all fixed. In fact, Commander wishes to speak with you”.

“Did they say why they want to see me?”, she asked, sitting up.

“I believe that’s classified information and we just don’t have the clearance”.

She gave a nod, then moved to get off the cod. “I suppose I have to go then”.

The Commander was calm on the surface, but Tobin knew they were boiling underneath it.

“You did a good job, Captain 1117, just like I knew you would. That pleases me”.

“Thank you, Commander. I am loyal to you and to this War that we must win”.

“Yes, and that will help climb the ranks here; we just don’t know if there’ll even be an Agency in the future – these doomed planets are destroying timelines at an alarming rate and the brass at the very top of this organisation are sitting with their hands folded, watching our demise”.

“They must… still believe in the treaty”, Tobin added.

“That treaty is useless, worth less than the paper it was printed on”, Commander huffed. “It’s as if they don’t understand the implications of these doomed planets. The only thing worse would be loops, and they’d probably do nothing about that either”.

Tobin perked up at the mention of loops. It had been like a curse word at the Agency, no one ever mentioned it and with good reason. Time loops were the worst possible outcome, for either side. No one could win in a loop.

“I was uninformed before, thought that the treaty kept us safe”, Tobin said, rising to her feet. “But I know the truth now – this Time War will never end unless we say it ends. We are the unstoppable force and the immovable object. Natura have nothing”.

“Exactly”.

“Why should we bend a knee before them?”, Tobin asked. “Commander, you must try to convince the higher-ups, the Generals, that we should take this war to the battlefield, the real one”.

“I know”, Commander said. “And I will”.

Tobin gave a diligent nod. “It must happen”.

-

The air was cool on her skin, she severely misjudged the weather. It didn’t matter though, she was on her way to see Christen.

She had finally found the perfect place on one of the doomed planets – a cabin near a lake in Whitefish, Montana. It had the nature element that Christen wanted and it was quiet and peaceful, and private.

When she climbed over the last rocky knoll in the ground, she saw the lake stretched out before her, and it was beautiful. Then she saw the woman swimming in it and smiled warmly.

She hastened her walk, not wanting to waste a second of their time together. Christen disappeared underwater, a second later she was back up, running her hands over her hair. The first things she saw when she opened her eyes was her favourite Agent.

“You’re late”, she said, teasing her just a little. But then her eyes grew soft and she lovingly stared at the brunette. “Join me”.

Tobin gave a lopsided smirk. “It’s a little cold”, she said, digging her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

“I’m not cold, and I’m not even wearing a thing”, she said, standing up in the water to reveal her naked form.

“Well then”, Tobin mused aloud. “I suppose they call it an invitation because it’s so…”, she started to undo the buttons on her red and black thermal plaid shirt. “…inviting”.

She stripped down to nothing and walked into the lake, Christen giving an approving smile as she did so.

“Revitalising, isn’t it?”, the Interferer asked, stretching her hands so they rest on Tobin’s shoulders.

“It is”, she responded, moving closer so she could wrap her arms around Christen’s tiny waist. “Hello, beautiful”, she cooed softly, staring down at her lips. “I’m sorry for being late, I just had to make sure I wasn’t being trailed”.

“You’re forgiven”, Christen said, moving her hands so her palms are against Tobin’s cheeks. “And we still have, what? Twenty hours?”

“Just about”, Tobin smiled. She dipped her head lower and kissed the enemy soldier with everything she had in her. “I’ve missed you”, she whispered against her lips. “I’ve missed so, so much”.

“And I, you”, Christen said, kissing her again. “I can’t believe you’re here”.

“I promised we’d see each other again”, Tobin said, stroking a finger along Christen’s jaw. “I always keep my promises”. She ducked her head a little to give her another kiss. “As much as I’m enjoying this frolic in the water, I’d really like to show you the cabin”.

“Five more minutes”, Christen promised, giving Tobin a peck on the lips before swimming away.

=

Tobin had gone a few days earlier, just to make sure that everything was perfectly set up in the cabin. There was food, wine, a record player and some old records. She made sure the place was spotless, too. Everything had to be perfect so that when Christen walked in she’d love it.

And she did.

“This is gorgeous”, she said, running her hand along the back of the mahogany sideboard behind the couch. “Very luxurious”. She turned to Tobin and smiled. “You did good”.

“Thank you”. The Agent nodded up the small flight of stairs. “Do you want to see the bedroom?”

“Show me”, she said and allowed Tobin to take her hand and walk her up the steps. “How did you find this place?”

“I was embedded here once. Bit of lone wolf out here in the wild, I liked it. When I saw that this Strand as going extinct, I remembered this place and I thought you might like it, too”.

“I do”.

Tobin pushed open the door with her free hand and stepped aside to Christen could view the room.

It was equal parts rustic and luxurious, like the entire cabin had been. A giant bed with mountains of pillows stood in the middle, a comfy looking couch in the corner by the big windows overlooking the lake, and a desk and chair made of oak. There were double doors that lead out to a little balcony, and outside were two chairs and a coffee table.

“The room is very nice”, she said, walking over to the bed and sitting on the ottoman by the foot-end. “I can imagine what the sunrise must look like from right here”, she said, looking through the double glass doors. “Waking up to that view every single morning”.

“Maybe you’d get bored of it one day, then what?”, Tobin asked, sitting down next to her.

“You never get tired of beauty”, she said, turning to face the other soldier. “I’ve seen many sunsets and sunrises, each one as beautiful as the last. I could never get bored”.

Tobin smiled, feeling a sort of relief. “And if you do get a little tired of it, you could always move the bed”.

“Exactly”, Christen said with a lazy smile. She kissed Tobin unexpectedly, hand buried in her still damp hair.

Tobin had a bemused smile on her face when they pulled apart.

“I like being here with you”, Christen said. “I want to enjoy the time we have”.

“We will”, Tobin said, cupping her cheek. “I’ll run us a bath, the tub is amazing”.

=

Christen’s eyes were closed as Tobin gently lathered her back with the washing gel. Her hands felt warm and strong on her back, but at the same time they were soothing and soft.

“Your scars”.

“Gone, like I said”.

“I’ll always be sorry about that”, Tobin rasped lowly. “I never want to hurt you”.

“Pain is only hurts when it’s intentional”, Christen said. “Yes, the dentist hurts you when he extracts a tooth, but it’s not real pain”.

“How do you mean?”, Tobin enquired, brow furrowed as she considered Christen’s take.

“Pain only truly hurts when it’s done on purpose, with an intention. I know you did not intend to hurt me and that you never would”.

“You trust me so much”, Tobin said softly, massaging her shoulders.

“Well, I’ve known you for two centuries”, Christen said with a soft laugh. She turned around slowly, cupped Tobin’s face with one of her slender hands and found her eyes. “Do you trust me?”

“I wouldn’t be sat here in a bathtub with you if I didn’t trust you, Christen”, Tobin said earnestly. “I trust you with my life”.

“Me, too”. She placed a soft kiss on the brunette’s lips. “Wash my back”, she said afterwards, spinning around again.

“Whatever the queen wants, she gets”, Tobin joked lovingly and ran the wetted loofah over her back, finger trailing her spine.

“Is that a promise?”

Tobin kissed her shoulder and moved her hands to Christen’s front. “Lay back”, she instructed gently. The enemy soldier did as she was told, biting at her lip as Tobin’s hands expertly played with her.

“I know you’ve done this to yourself, imagining your hands as mine”, she whispered lowly. “It’s just not the same, is it?”

“No, it just isn’t”, Christen moaned out softly, eyes closed and head back in pleasure.

=

They were dried off, dressed in matching terrycloth robes and Tobin sat on the edge of the tub, watching the other soldier blow dry her mane.

Christen switched the hairdryer off momentarily and stared at Tobin’s reflection in the mirror. “I didn’t realise I was such an intriguing subject”.

“I love watching you do things, you move elegantly, like a flower in the breeze”.

“You old sweet-talker”, Christen admonished harmlessly. “I can’t believe I fall for your charms every time”.

Tobin stood up and walked over to her, placing her two strong hands on her hips and pulling her closer. “You are the prettiest woman I have ever seen in my lives”. She placed a soft kiss on her lips and then, without warning, scooped her into her arms. “I can’t wait any longer”, she husked. “I have to have you right now”.

∞

When Christen woke up, Tobin’s side of the bed was empty and she got unreasonably worried at her absence. She threw on a sweater to cover her nakedness, and went in search of her paramour. She found the other soldier outside, chopping firewood.

She leaned against one of the wooden columns of the porch and watched her for a little while. The Agent didn’t see her until she stopped to catch a breath and wipe the sweat of her brow.

“Making a fire?”

“I thought we could spend the evening out here. Under the stars – I thought it might be romantic”.

Christen smiled warmly, even as the cool air hit against her barely covered skin. “I’d like that”.

Tobin walked up towards the steps that lead to the porch. “What would you like for dinner?”

“It’s dinner time already?”

“It could be dinner time, breakfast time – it’s all an illusion anyway”, Tobin joked, pulling Christen in her arms. “All I know is that I wanna spend it all with you”.

“Yes, well”, Christen’s smiled fell away. “We only have tonight and then who knows when we’ll see each other again. I don’t want to leave it up to chance anymore -chances come and go. And once they’re gone…”

“I know this isn’t ideal and I wish that I could change it for us”, Tobin said, brushing Christen’s hair behind her ear and caressing her cheek. “But I don’t want to talk about that right now”.

“We can’t avoid it either”.

“We can tonight”. Tobin took Christen by the hand and led her back into the cabin. “Now”, she spun around and smiled at the other soldier. “What would you like for dinner?”

=

The chill from the late afternoon persisted through the evening, but it didn’t matter – the fire provided the perfect amount of heat.

Tobin had her head in Christen’s lap, and the Interferer ran her slender fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. It was such a relaxing feeling that Tobin’s eyes threatened to fall close. Christen smiled down at her, and trailed a fingertip along her cheek.

“You know, and not that I have a lot of experience in dealing with Time Agents, I struggle to imagine any of them being quite like you”, Christen said, breaking the tranquil silence between them.

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re so… human”, Christen explained. “More human than I’ll ever be”.

“The Agency uses the best technology, makes sure its Agents are intelligent enough to assimilate in the natural world. I’m just a programmed consciousness, that’s all”.

“No, you’re so much more than that”, Christen said, weaving her fingers through Tobin’s hair as she spoke. “You’re warm – and you make me feel things. Real things”.

“Maybe what you’re feeling is what your human half wants you to feel”.

“Oh, it’s less than half”, Christen said and laughed softly. “Long ago we might’ve been humans, but we’ve evolved so much since then”.

“But you were born, no?”

“I was planted and I grew, yes”, Christen explained.

“What was it like? Growing up?”, Tobin asked, wanting to understand everything she could about the other soldier.

“It wasn’t as easy for me as it was for my brothers and sisters”, she said, thinking back to the stories she was told by the gardeners. “I was born sick and no one knew why. We weren’t supposed to be born with illnesses – we were pure. The Head Mistress sought the best doctors, nurses and scientists. Someone had to know how to heal me. And one day, just out of the blue, I wasn’t sick anymore. I could run around in the garden with the rest of the children”.

“That’s… incredible”.

“It is, and I’m glad that I survived, but… I have this feeling that it’s going to come back someday. I don’t know why, but I’ve always thought that it would”.

Tobin sat up, reached for Christen’s cold hands and held them tightly. “I don’t want you to be scared, of anything”. She searched for her eyes, found them and looked at her with a silent plea and in hers.

“I was never afraid of anything, until I met you”, Christen said softly. “I was never afraid of death, but now that I have you – I don’t want to lose you and I don’t want you to lose me”.

“We won’t ever lose each other”, Tobin promised blindly. She put an arm around Christen’s shoulder and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “We’ll always find our way back to each other, no matter what happens”.

“No matter what happens”, Christen repeated, confirmed to herself almost. “Get back down, I like threading my hand through your hair like that. It calms me”.

Tobin smiled and laid back down so that Christen could continue her ministrations.

“This is perfect”, Christen said, finding Tobin’s eyes.

“It is”, she agreed softly. “Remember that night in Paris, at the top of the Eiffel Tower when you asked me what my favourite life had been?”

“I remember”.

“You never told me yours”.

Christen smiled and gave a nod. “You’re right”.

“So? Are you going to tell me?”

“It’s this one – being here with you. This is the best life I’ve ever lived”.

Tobin sat up, guided her hand to find Christen’s. “Do you mean it?”

“I do”, she answered earnestly. “I never felt as if thought I was more than just a soldier in this Time War. I always felt as if though I only had my role to play and that I would be nothing, or could be nothing more. And then I met you”. She smiled, pressing a kiss against Tobin’s lips. “I’m happy when I’m with you, I don’t know if I’ve ever been happy before, but I know I am when we’re together”.

Tobin kissed her; everything in her – whether it was science, technology, reason or just love – wanted to kiss her, so she did.

They didn’t stay outside long after that. Tobin led her inside, and there had been such an urgency that the small flight of stairs felt as high and steep to climb as Everest, so they settled on the sofa.

Only later, after they’d been sated and when Christen’s head rested against Tobin’s chest, does the reality of their impending separation truly hit them both.

“It’s going to hurt more than it did the first time”, Tobin said, almost to herself.

“What is?”

She stayed quiet for a while, gathering every thought in her head before she spoke again. “Leaving you”.

Christen sighed and sat up next to her paramour, using the afghan on the back of the sofa to cover her nude chest. “We’ll keep writing; we’ll keep talking”.

“Yes, but I want this”, Tobin said. “I want to see you and touch you, I want to fall asleep next to you, Christen. It’s been long enough”.

“I thought time was just an illusion”, Christen countered, hoping to add levity to the situation.

“Not when I’m with you”, Tobin answered without a beat. “I love you”.

The green of Christen’s eyes flickered, and she wore a bright smile in the low light of the living room. “I love you, too”.

Tobin leaned up and kissed her tenderly, carding a hand through her hair. There wasn’t much time left on this planet. She wanted to make love to her one last time and kiss her, and promise her that they would see each other again soon, even if she had no idea if that was true or not.

Chapter Text

Young Agents might mistake the Time War as a chance to travel through the Strands – to fall in love a million times over, to kill and be killed just as much – but it wasn’t always as glamourous. Most of an Agent’s years were spent living a boring, suburban life. Or spent in ancient times where, if you weren’t a powerful man, they would be servants.

Tobin was a Captain now, she got her pick of the missions first, before the young, new Agents got theirs. And her Commander would be so impressed whenever she chose to go to a Strand where she would suffer, fight in wars, be buried in snow or burned alive.

But she did not do it to impress them. She chose missions that would give her the best chance of running into Christen. Being burned at the witch trials hurt a little less knowing she would see the Interferer for a few minutes.

In this Strand she was a logger – tasked with supplying wood for construction. She ran her hand through her shaggy brown hair and tossed another piece of lumber onto the pile. The forest was wet and cold and the body she inhibited was tired and aching. She couldn’t wait for nightfall, even if her nights only consisted of laying on her back and staring up at the ceiling of the old log cabin she lived.

There were always a million things going through her mind at once – always a million things that could go wrong or right.

She thought of Christen and the time they’d spent together, and when she did, she had never been so thankful for her memory. She remembered the way her skin felt underneath her fingertips, and the way her lips tasted so sweet. Tobin remembered the soft moans the other soldier had made when her mouth was on her, worshipping her like a deity, because she was one. She had become the sun around which Tobin’s life revolved and there was no light without her anymore.

It was scary – loving so hard when she wasn’t even sure if she had the capacity to love. But she must have had it, because she knew that she loved Christen.

She loved her in different times and different spaces, but it was always the same. She always loved her more than anything.

She sighed softly in between her sheets, reached underneath her pillow and read the last letter Christen sent, again.

Tobin,

You broke me.

I know it’s an unusual way to start off anything, especially a love letter, but I couldn’t wait to tell you. You broke me.

Everything I thought I was, everything Natura have tried to make of you, my past, my future and my right now – you broke me.

I want to be an oasis for you. I want to be real for you. I want to live a million lives, all with you. I want to stop looking for you and just find you. Find you in every place, over and over again.

I want to live in an eternity with you, even if just for a day.

So yes, you broke me, but I love to be broken by you.

Love, Christen

She closed her eyes and read the words again and again.

∞

Christen sat on the lawn in the garden, watching the children playing in the shade of the great oak tree that stood regal. She closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. They were all trapped at Natura. The Head Mistress did not want them to go on missions until they could figure out which Strands were safe and which were in a loop.

Time loops were the worst possible outcome for a Time Soldier. They were timelines that repeated in perpetuity and no one could escape from them. There had been a few Interferers who were caught in loops and they never came home. And for the Natura, one soldier lost was one too many.

Christen didn’t mind being back at her homebase – she quite liked the timid weather and the lukewarm sunshine and the beauty of the garden. But time lapsed differently at Natura, and even though she had only been there for a few days, it could have been half a century since she last saw Tobin.

A half century since Whitefish, Montana and the day they had spent together. Half a century since she laid haplessly beneath the Agent as her kisses went lower and lower.

But it had also been half a century since their talks and since they soft promises Tobin had made her. Her only wish now was that her lover could keep those promises, however impossible they might be.

--

The air was humid, a thin layer of sheen was on her body due to the lack of air conditioning in the truck and here in the building. There wasn’t much to see in the lobby of this three-star hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Every last piece of furniture was some hideous shade of green-brown, the rugs were dirty and the smell of the nearby swamp. She rings the bell again, startled by her own massive hand. It was always a little startling when she gained her conscience and discovered that she was regenerated as a male.

And maybe it was the vessel she had come in with, or the fact that she had been standing by this counter for five minutes that made her want to test her recently acquired toxic masculinity. She was ready to slam a fist on the front desk and demand to be given the keys to her room.

“Can I get some damn service in this pl—”

The woman behind the counter was middle-aged, hair grey and short. Well, she was to everyone else. But Tobin could see her behind the regeneration. They always recognised each other despite the vessels they inhibited. She saw green eyes, sharp features, too much curly hair and her perfectly crafted body.

“Christen…”, she spoke softly, eyebrows quirking up in excitement.

“Well, it’s Sylvia now”, she answered back in a more familiar voice. “Who do I have to thank for this visit?”

“The president”, Tobin said, still unable to take her eyes off the woman.

“I happen to like this president; don’t kill him”. Christen smiled warmly. “I’ve been expecting you – hearing your footsteps move up and down this Strand. It’s good to see you”.

“You’re always a sight for sore eyes”, Tobin said, observing her closely. And even that phrase has no meaning when it comes to the woman stood before her. She wasn’t a sight for sore eyes, she was the cure. “I hope my arrival here hasn’t compromised your mission”.

“My mission is nearly over. I have a few loose ends to tie and then I say goodbye to Sylvia”. She looked around, noticed that there was no one else in the lobby, save for the bellboy by the door. “I can show you to your room – readied it myself”.

“I’d appreciate that very much”.

Tobin allows Christen to lead her up the narrow flight of stairs. It was dusk outside already, she still had a long way to drive before she reached Dallas, but she could spend a little time with her here, couldn’t she? It had been so long, fifty-five years of waiting and hoping and searching and never finding.

“My people won’t pick up interference for the next hour”, Christen said, glancing over her shoulder as she unlocked the door to the room. “Maybe I could stay for a while”.

“You’re playing with fire”, Tobin says with a dangerous smirk. “Sleeping with the enemy”.

“Oh, we’re not gonna sleep”, she snaps back with a wicked smile displayed on her perfect mouth.

∞

Tobin kissed up her spine, left a mark by the nape of her neck, right below where her operating system’s chip is located. Maybe it was to tease the other side in a way, telling them she owned one of their most prized soldiers. But more than just taunting the enemy, she wanted to give Christen something to remember her by, and something to remind her why they risk everything for each other.

“You’re the only one that can make me feel this way”, Christen rasped out.

“That’s because I know you like your pleasure with a little bit of pain”. Tobin twisted a hand in her hair as she thrusted her hips into her again. “Like this”.

The groan it elicited from Christen was hard and guttural. Tobin was right after all – pain and pleasure were two sides of the coin and it so deliciously melted together whenever she was the subject of Tobin’s affections.

Her breath hitched and she let out another hoarse moan as Tobin’s hand made its way up to her throat and gripped it, hard. Tobin pulled her back up so she’s no longer on her hands and knees, thrusting faster and tightening the grip on her throat.

She let go of Christen’s throat and used her now free hand to palm one of her tits. “Look how perfectly this fits into my hand, it’s like you were made just for me”. She peppered her shoulder blade with kisses.

“I was”, Christen breathed out. She felt a forceful hand on her back, pushing her down on all fours again.

Tobin grasped at her hips and moves with slow, deliberate strokes. She chuckled lowly at Christen’s whines and whimpers. She missed the sound of feminine moans and the feel of soft flesh underneath her hardened hands. No one ever compared to her; and no one would, not even in a thousand years. And she’d know – she’s lived that long.

Christen was perfect; genetically engineered but painted with an artist’s brush. Tobin threw her head back, closed her eyes and kept stroking until Christen’s jagged breathing turned to muffled pleas.

“Harder?”, she asked sweetly.

“Yes”, she cried out.

Tobin pulled her up and barked for her to get on her back this time.

Most times she’s gentle; she’d kiss her neck and brush through her hair and tell her she loved her in languages only they understood, but that’s not what Christen wanted tonight. Not by the way she stormed into the room, ripped off her clothes and jumped into her arms.

Time and distance tend to have that effect on lovers.

Tobin readjusted herself between Christen’s legs, and then she lifted them over her shoulders, smiling at the fact that her paramour was so flexible. She teased at her entrance with the toy before slowly filling her just the way she wants.

They won’t see each other again for who knows how long; she wanted to make it count. She pounded faster, elicits harder moans. She grabs at one of her tits, teases the hardened nipple. The room begins to spin, she knows the room is spinning for both of them. She goes slower, but only just. Her hands grab onto Christen’s waist – such a delicate waist, such a delicate frame.

She holds her steady until she calms, until she comes down from that impossible high. The room was quiet without their moans, groans and pleas.

“I’ve missed you”, Christen eventually said in a whine so innocent that it made Tobin laugh softly into the heavy, dark air of the room.

“I’ve missed you, too”. She sat up and watched over her naked form fondly. She reached, and stroked along her arm. “How long has it been this time?”

“Half a century, maybe more”, Christen sighed, rolling to her side. “I’ve fought in two wars, climbed four mountains, toppled an empire and ended global warming since I last saw you”.

“I was a late-night radio DJ”, Tobin said and Christen’s melodious laughter fills the space between them.

“And what could a late-night radio DJ really do to ensure your people still exist five millennia from now?”

“Oh, you know”, she left soft kisses on her shoulder and in her neck. “I could play a song that makes a man and woman conceive a child that will one day become president of Ireland. And that president will vote against a referendum on climate change and before you know, my people rule every last crevice of this dimension”.

“And then we don’t exist”, Christen added softly.

“This war is pointless”, Tobin grunted and moved to switch on the bedside table. “I’m tired of all this fighting, all this time wasted on something that won’t ever change”.

“You know there’s an end to this, Tobin”, Christen said, arching her brow. “Your side is stronger, more advanced – we would never beat you in battle”. She pulled the covers closer to her chest and dropped her gaze. “It’s only matter of time before the Agency tears up that treaty and declares a full-blown war… What will happen to us then?”

“Nothing is going to happen to you”, Tobin said quickly, reaching for Christen’s hands. “You’re going to be safe, I’ll make sure of it. I promise”.

“You can’t keep making these promises, Tobin”, Christen lamented. “Not when the future is so uncertain”.

“You trust me, don’t you?”, Tobin asked in a soft plea.

“I do, but—”

“Nothing bad is going to happen to you, or to me. We’re going to be okay”. She cupped Christen’s cheek with her hand, leaning closer and wordlessly asking for a kiss.

“I want to believe in you…”

“Then do”. Tobin used her free hand to trail the tip of her finger down Christen’s chest, until her hand was on her heart. “I love you”.

∞

Tobin was summoned to meet with the Commander. She walked through the doors of their office and found them pacing in front of the giant screen. Their head was down and there was a tension in the room that Tobin did not like.

“You wanted to see me, Commander”, she said, standing with her hands behind her back, trying to regain some of her confidence and authority.

“Yes, Captain 1117”. They turned around and stared at Tobin for a few seconds, though it felt like an eternity. “It has come to my attention that you have been… compromised”.

“I-I’m not sure I follow, Commander”.

“By me”, Commander said and tapped their fingers on their desk. “I influenced you to rethink the peace treaty. I mean, you were so against and then you changed, seemingly overnight”.

“I know, and I did that because… because there is no reason why we shouldn’t go to battle. We’re stronger, we’re more advanced. We could kill them all”.

“But the higher-ups won’t let us”, Commander said. “No, they won’t initiate contact with the other side… So, we have to strike first”.

“How do you mean?”, Tobin asked carefully.

“We have to make a move – a hostile one. One that will set into course a chain of events that will lead to a war”.  Commander pressed on the screen and as it loaded, going from black go blue to grey, they turned to Tobin. “I know what we have to do”.

“I will remain loyal to our side, Commander. I will follow orders and do whatever it takes to make sure—”

“I know you will, 1117”, Commander said. “That is why I called you in, out of all my captains”.

Tobin swallowed hard as her mind began to race. She wasn’t sure what the Commander wanted from her – but she knew she would have to do it, no matter what.

“This has always been a chess match between us and them. One small move here, another small move there…”, Commander said. “We have our higher-ups and they have their Head Mistress”. The screen loaded a picture and Tobin’s heart sank. “But what will she do when we take her queen?”

Commander walked closer to her, looking over her shoulder at the screen – and the candid picture of Christen that was loaded on it. “Kill her”.

Chapter Text

“Her? W-why her?”

Commander turned to the screen and inspected it carefully. “She’s an Interferer, a very good one. A very highly-ranked one. And I’ve personally been following her”.

Tobin’s eyebrows quirked up in surprise. “You have?”

“Not for long, but I picked up her interference in one of your missions – Rome. You might not recognise her now because she was in a vessel, but that’s her true form – a true, human form”. Commander turned to the Captain. “They’re human, so they can die”.

Tobin swallowed hard and tried her best to keep her face neutral. “And you think this is the best way to—”

“It’s the only way. We kill one of theirs, they come for us. It is the perfect plan. Don’t you see? If Natura attack us, the powers that be will have no choice but to defend our future. We’ll get the go ahead from the higher-ups, then this war can finally end”.

“If we kill her, she’ll be a martyr – is that what you want, Commander?”, Tobin tried to reason.

But this was not the plan.

“I don’t care what she becomes in death, as long as she’s the catalyst”. Commander trailed their eyes over Tobin, watching her every move closely. “Are you afraid, Captain 1117?”

“No, I just… I don’t know how we’ll kill her. Interferers have special abilities, what if she is psychic or—”

“Don’t worry. She won’t ever see it coming”. Commander walked towards their desk, opened one of the drawers and revealed a small glass bottle with green-ish liquid inside.

“What is that?”, Tobin asked, taking a step closer.

“She’s a plant, isn’t she? Phytotoxins – kills almost instantly”. Commander held the bottle out for Tobin to take. “This should be more than enough”.

Tobin almost mechanically reached for the poison – she wasn’t sure if she was in control of her movements anymore. Her eyes were open but she could not see anything.

“This is a very important mission, 1117. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with this, just you”. Commander placed a firm hand on Tobin’s shoulder. “Once the deed is done, contact me immediately and I will send two soldiers out there to help you bring the body back”.

“Back here?”

“Yes… A further incentive for Natura to come here – collect their fallen daughter”.

Tobin gave a nod.

There was nothing left for her to do but her job. One last mission. She looked at the poison – at its colour and quantity - compared it carefully. When she lifted the cap off the bottle and smelled it, the scent triggered an emotion she last felt a lifetime ago.

∞

In this life Christen was a young artist, living in Puebla, Mexico. She actually quite liked it.

Her days were spent painting by the windows, looking out and seeing all the old buildings and 18^th century architecture. At nights she paged through books and fell asleep dreaming of her long, lost love – who was due to send her a letter soon.

She wrapped her hands around the steaming cup of tea and looked out of the window, watching the sunset.

Every single one of them was beautiful, but there would always be something missing if Tobin wasn’t with her. There was so much they still had to do – so much they still had to talk about and dream about together.

Her future had always been uncertain, with only one clear and obvious thing in it – the Time War. Her future would always consist of traveling through time, trying to win a war that could never end.

But then she met Tobin and that all changed.

There we so many things they could do, so many things they could be together. She closed her eyes and remembered one of her lover’s letters from long ago.

Thinking about it again now, I think we’d be the ‘plotting each other’s murders’ kind of neighbours. If not, I imagine we would have a lot of fun together. We could tend to our gardens, we could gossip about our other moms in the neighbourhood, we could go on long walks when we’re tired of our husbands and our children. I would love to sit on the back porch and watch the sunset with you.

“Hey”.

Christen opened her eyes and looked up I surprise when she saw Tobin standing in the doorway.

“What are you—“. She didn’t finish her question, leaping out of her chair and hugging the brunette soldier.

“I missed you, too”, Tobin said, holding her tightly against her body.

“I was just thinking about you and here you are”, Christen said with a smile, placing a hand on Tobin’s cheek. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing”, Tobin said quickly and planted a kiss on Christen’s lips. “Time-travel is tiring. I think I need a bit of a break”.

“I have a pot of tea and a beautiful Mexican sunset to offer”, Christen said and took Tobin by the hand. “We can watch the sunset together”.

“Sounds perfect”, Tobin said softly, joining Christen on the old, paint splattered sofa. She watched on as Christen poured her a cup of tea.

“It’s strong”, she warned as she handed Tobin the cup.

“Thank you”.

“Did you make a de-tour to see me or are you also in this Strand on a mission?”

“Mission”, Tobin said, staring at the orange sky and remembering why she was really there.

“Oh, do tell”.

“It’s a quick one”. Tobin paused for just a second. “I have to kill someone”.

“That’s never easy”.

“Do you feel guilty after a kill?”

“I do, but most Interferers do. I suppose it’s because we were human once”, Christen said and took a sip of tea. “I don’t like to do it, so they always put me on missions where I give life instead of taking it”. She turned to Tobin. “What about you?”

“Guilty? No, not always”, she said and found Christen’s eyes. “But sometimes – when I know that this person didn’t do anything wrong. They just knew too much, they just gave birth to a killer. They don’t deserve to die”.

“It’s part and parcel of the job”, Christen said with a sigh. “But at least you don’t have to worry about that”.

“What do you mean?”

“Your kind… you don’t die”.

Tobin pulled her shoulders in a shrug and took a sip of tea. “I would die without you”.

“But you don’t have to be without me, maybe for a while, but not forever. We’ll always find our way back to each other”, Christen said and placed her hand atop Tobin’s. “Decades, centuries, millennia from now, I’m going to be somewhere and you’re gonna somewhere else and we’re going to find our way back to this – to us”. She leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Tobin’s lips.

“What happened to the fear that you had about this Time War?”, Tobin asked, brow furrowed as she reached for Christen’s hand.

“I chose to believe you. I know nothing’s going to happen to me, because you’ll protect me”.

Tobin felt as if though her throat was closing. Breathing became harder, like when she first used a vessel and had no control over her body. All she could see were Christen’s eyes, and all she felt was a aching pain in her chest.

“I love you, Tobin. And I want to find out what that means together. I want to sit next to you in one year or a thousand. I want to go to bed with you next to me and wake up the same way. I want to be yours, only yours, forever”.

Tobin couldn’t help the tears, falling as she listened to the other soldier’s speech.

“I want to spend my whole life learning about you and living with you and loving you… But I can’t do that if I’m afraid of some little war… So I’m not – I have faith that we’ll be together no matter what happens between our sides”.

Tobin nodded, wiping away her own tears.

“Why are you crying, my love? It’s good, no?”, Christen asked, wrapping Tobin in a hug.

“It is”, Tobin said with a sniff. “I just… I want everything that you want and I love you more than I think I’m programmed to”, she said with a soft chuckle. “I don’t think I’m worthy – I don’t think I’m deserving”. 

“You are”, Christen said and cupped Tobin’s face with her warm, soft hands. “You deserve the world, and one day we’ll have it”. She kissed Tobin softly, and rested her head on her shoulder for a few, long, precious minutes.

Tobin ran a hand up and down Christen’s back, soothing her. There would be no easy way to do this – there would be no easy way to do it. No easy way to stab a poisoned needle into her lover’s chest and watch her die again.

“Christen”.

“Yes?”, the Interferer looked at her with a small smile. “What is it, love?”

“When you said that you would be mine forever – did you mean it?”

Christen’s brow furrowed at the question. “Of course”.

The Time Agent placed an arm around her and hugged her again. “You’re so beautiful… I didn’t tell you that enough this time”. With her free hand she reached into the back pocket of her jeans and took out the syringe.

“This time?”, Christen asked as she pulled away from the other soldier. “What do you me—”

She stopped when the needle hit her chest.

“Tobin, what are you doing?”, she asked, eyes filling with tears as she felt her body growing limp.

“I know it hurts, but please remember this, my love, pain is only painful when it’s intentional”, Tobin said through the tears.

“Why would you do this?”, Christen’s voiced strained softly. “Why w—”

Then her eyes closed.

∞

There used to be one timeline.

Until there wasn’t.

The original timeline was split into a new parallel timeline each time someone travelled back in time. For each new interference, each new mission, a new timeline was created. And long before Tobin, or Agent 1117 even came into existence, there were already hundreds of millions of eventualities and timelines. There were already millions of Strands of time.

But the original timeline persists, even now. No one dares touch it because the consequences would be far-reaching – even further than The Agency and Natura were prepared for.

But Tobin had gone there once. She was a desperate soldier and she would do anything to change the course of her own history. So she went back.

=

The soldiers Commander had sent arrived minutes after Tobin had contacted them.

She stood over Christen’s lifeless body, trying her best not to crack.

“Is this her?”, one soldier asked.

“Yes”. Tobin turned to them and said, “She’s dead, as per the Commander’s instructions”.

“Commander will be pleased”, the other soldier said.

“We’ll help you transport the body, also per Commander’s instructions”.

“No”, Tobin asserted. “I will deliver her to the Commander myself”. She reached out and easily held Christen in her arms. “Open the portal, use my watch”.

She nodded over to her watch on the table, already set up for the destination.

“Why not ours?”

“Are you questioning a Captain’s authority?”, she berated the soldier.

“No, of course not, Captain”. He hit the button that opened the blue and back swirling portal.

“In case you see the Commander before I do, tell them I said… I was always compromised”.

Chapter Text

Christen woke up with a banging headache and a ringing in her ears. She sat up slowly, unsure of where she was until she saw the glass doors that lead to a balcony. She kicked the white covers off of her and rushed to the bathroom.

She was doubled over, throwing up until all she did was dry heave over the bowl. She sat on the wooden floor, head against the wall, eyes closed. The ringing in her ears only got louder and her body felt numb. She only stood up minutes later, rinsing her mouth and washing her face in the basin.

She had been in this cabin before, with Tobin – but now she had no idea where Tobin was or why she was back here or why her whole felt numb.

Walking back to the bedroom, she sat on the bed and tried to remember. Anything. But she couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t hear her own thoughts over the ringing. Her body was tired, but she didn’t know why. Her chest ached and if she took too deep a breath she coughed.

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and all the muscles in her body turned limp as she fell back down on the bed.

Hours later, when she woke up from her slumber, she turned to her side, looking out the window at the golden sky triggered a vague memory. She climbed out of bed, walked over to the balcony doors and opened them.

The air was cool on her skin, and she crossed her arms to generate some heat. On the coffee table was an envelope. Her name was haphazardly written on it.

She moved closer, sat on the deep green accent chair and reached for the letter. Her eyes glazed over the papers in her hand as she read carefully.

Dear Christen

I hope this letter finds you well. I know you might be a little sick when you get this, but I trust your recovery will be speedy.

We’ve written many letters across the years, haven’t we? Although, you may not remember all of them now. Don’t worry, as you know I have an excellent memory – I will play our letters back to you one day.

I know you’re confused – please don’t be. And don’t be scared either. You’re safe here. Safe from your side and mine.

You must have a lot of questions, my love, and I want to answer them all so you don’t feel so lost anymore. I apologise for keeping things from you, but you have to understand that it was safer for me to do it this way.

Christen, that night in Chicago wasn’t the first night we met.

We met before that. Same place, same time – but different timelines (more on that later, I promise).

We shared a drink, you taunted me – it was all very similar. In fact, most of it was similar the second time around. I wanted it to be the same so that you would fall in love with me again.

So, we wrote letters and sent them to each other. We didn’t know if we were enemies or if we were lovers, maybe we were both and neither at the very same time.

But then The Agency wanted war. And they thought the best way to do it was to kill off one of Natura’s best soldiers. And it was you.

I was tasked with poisoning you, but then I refused. I said that I would never hurt you and that I loved you. They still made me stab that needle through you chest. You died in my arms.

Christen, you have to believe me when I say that I never wanted to hurt you and that I was forced to poison you.

I was distraught afterwards. I couldn’t live without you, I just couldn't. So, I did the only thing I could think of – I went back to the original timeline and I changed it. A new linear timeline came into existence and I travelled up the Strands until I reached the period of Natura – the age in which you were born. I found your pod when you were just a seedling and I was armed with a vial with an antidote. An antidote you would only need hundreds of centuries later.

And then I waited, lived my life off the grid, until the day a Time Agent would be sent to that fateful bar in Chicago, 1997. I cornered the naïve Agent, took her out and took her place. I walked into the bar and I knew that you would come to me, just like you did before.

I wrote the same first letter again and you responded and we began our love affair for the second time.

I knew we would meet and fall in love and I even knew that I would have to kill you in the end, but this time the poison wouldn’t be lethal, because you were guarded against it.

I did everything I could for us, Christen. I lived through hundreds and thousands of years just so that we could finally be together again and that it wouldn’t end in death.

I did it all because I love you and because my life has no meaning without you. It was all just blank pages of nothingness until you came and wrote your love on me. Now it’s engraved into everything I am, was and will be.

We can finally be together here, in this place we once called home. I could put back out all the pictures I had to hide away when I brought you here that one time. We could go on walks, or go swimming or maybe just sit on the back porch and watch the sunset. For now, I’m giving you space – even if we’ve had our fair share of distance. I’m giving you time – even if you might feel as if we’ve wasted a lot of it already. But, if you want me, you’ll know just where to find me.

I love you, Christen. I always have and I always will. And now, we have an always of our own.

Love,

Tobin

Christen read the letter for a second and then a third time. And when she looked at the sun slowly moving behind the mountains, she knew exactly where she would find Tobin.

∞

The Time Agent was curled up on the love seat on the back porch, paging through a book in her lap.

“Hi”, she heard a familiar voice say and it made her look up.

“You’re awake… again”.

“I needed the rest”, she said carefully. “Can I sit with you?”

“Of course”.

Christen sat down, fingers trailing along the arm of the sofa.

Tobin looked at her with some intent. “How are you feeling?”

“Better than I did when I first woke up”.

“I didn’t know what sort of effect the poison would have on you, I’m really sorry that you felt any pain of discomfort. There was no way of knowing if—”

“It’s fine”, Christen interrupted, placing a cold hand on top of hers. “You saved my life”.

“I had to”, Tobin said softly. “I couldn’t let you die. I promised I’d protect you – even if it meant going back in time and doing it all over again”.

Christen gave a closed-lip smile and squeezed her hand. “You waited for millennia for me to even exist again”.

“What can I say? I’m whipped”, Tobin said playfully, and ran a hand down Christen’s arm. “I knew that I could save you if I just stayed patient, if I never gave up”.

“So that’s why I was born sick? Because of the antidote?”

“Yes”. Tobin had a regretful look on her face. “I didn’t know that it would make you sick, Christen. I promise I never wanted to cause you any pain or suffering. I just wanted to make sure that you would survive the second time”.

“And then you waited”.

“I did”.

Christen leaned in unexpectedly and gave Tobin a kiss on the lips. The brunette soldier kissed back, hands wrapping around her waist.

“I suppose you’re not a little upset by the fact that I had to kill you not once, but twice”, Tobin joked after they pulled apart.

“You saved my life and you gave me one, too. I could never be upset with you”, the Interferer said. “But I have more questions”.

“I knew you would”, Tobin chuckled lowly.

“You said that this was our home. I only remember it as the cabin in Montana on a doomed timeline we spent the day at once. I’m assuming it was ours the first time around?”

“It was. We’d often escape our sides, our missions, and come here. You decorated it, I’d make sure there was enough firewood”.

“Explains why everything here was so perfect – so bespoke to my own likes”, Christen said. “Even the locale”.

Tobin kissed her neck and hung an arm around her shoulder. “We’re finally home again”.

“And this home…”, she looked to her lover. “Is it...permanent?”

Tobin nodded. “I… I wasn’t sure if you would be okay with that – with living in a loop, but—”

“It means spending everyday of my life with you – of course I’m on board with that”, she said with a smile. “And this will be the only place where we’ll be safe, as I imagine your side is looking for us”.

“Yes, and there might even be a real Time War now. Your death, or rather, disappearance could cause Natura to attack”.

“Maybe”, Christen mused. “I don’t care. I never cared about the war”. She gave Tobin another soft kiss on the lips. “All I care about is you and I and how we’re going to fill our days”.

“I’m sure we can come up with a few ideas”, Tobin said with a smirk. She turned back toward the scenic view, and put a loving arm around the other soldier. “We have all the time in the world”.