Mr. & Mrs. Solo

Choose to Accept It

If ever there was a color, a word, a feeling to describe the wonder that was Noah Conti, he hasn't come across it yet. Doubted that he ever would, in fact. She was orange in the mornings as she woke him with a kiss to the cheek, green in the day as she worked her genius into everything she did. Even something as ordering a cup of tea in a shop sent her eyes calculating without her realization.

Red, however, was his favorite color of her. She burned when she was red, usually at night when the two of them were settling into bed and her head was against his chest. Red was also the color of her anger, but he found that he could never truly stay angry at her even as she yelled at him profusely (which he almost always deserved). Her nose crinkled when she was angry.

It was his favorite color on her, and typically a specific shade. A deep red, but more vibrant than most others that he had seen. The color of fall. Napoleon was stirred from his inner monologue about the gently dangerous woman he had the pleasure of coming back to after every mission appearing in front of him, carrying two cups of steaming liquid. "Here we are," she said, red dress flowing prettily as she sat down. He remembered that one, full skirt that stopped above her knees and sleeves off her shoulders. Prague, maybe. "One tea with cream and a black coffee."

Sitting up a hair straighter, Napoleon adjusted his shirt before taking the cup and saucer from her. "I'm sorry, I would have helped you carry if I had known it would have taken so little time." Noah sat across from him, placing her cup down and tucking her hair behind her ear. The motion always fascinated him for some reason, the same with Gaby. Such rough hands making such a soft motion.

Raising her cup to her lips, she blew on it to cool it off. "It's alright. I wasn't expecting it to be done so quickly as well." Taking a sip, she smiled a little. It was hot and tasted like cream and honey. Delicious. "How's yours?"

He reached for his sunglasses, adjusting them on his face as sun beamed through the awning and onto the few outside tables. Where were they again? Oh, that's right, Morocco. Noah had been on contract in France while he was somewhere deep in Russia with the bear of a man he had in a partner. Waverly had agreed to meet him in the small country instead of coming back to the states, claiming he 'need a break from all this bloody paperwork.'

"Scalding." He said, glancing back at her. "I don't see how you're enjoying yours." It was early that morning, well, it was early for them. Around nine, he thought, and a quick look at the clock on the wall of the small cafe confirmed this.

Noah's little smile turned into a laugh, and she set her cup down. "You've ruined my secret, I was trying to seem tough." Her voice made it seem like she had just revealed a well-kept secret, but the truth was that she was incredibly tough. Napoleon didn't know many other men or women who were willing to toy with explosive material.

He smiled a little. "It's not a secret. You might be tougher than me." He edged, leaning back in his chair slightly as their conversation became more relaxed. Christ, she was beautiful.

"Really?"

"No."

Head tipping back in a laugh, his smile grew as he watched her enjoy his little joke. No, she wasn't tougher than him when it came to taking a bullet, or being able to shoot back. But she was tougher than him when it came to the subject of emotion. Only recently had he found out about what happened to her parents. He'd seen the house. No one should have been able to survive that. "Damn, I thought I had you!" She exclaimed, still smiling. The smile turned cheeky as she raised her cup to her lips. "But I am smarter than you could ever dream to be."

Napoleon raised an eyebrow, half-hidden by his sunglasses. The twitch at the corner of his mouth deceived him. "Are you, now?" He dared, prodding her back as he finally took a sip of his coffee. Napoleon regretted it immediately. Swallowing the watery coffee, he set it down. "That's absolutely disgusting."