“I’m a liaison for a joint mission. Hopefully the last one because I’m getting tired of seeing your face every day. You’re a metahuman and I’m not. When this is over, we’ll go our separate ways. We don’t need to be friends to do our jobs.”
The words were harsh, said with a depth of anger in them that made Liam tighten his hands on the steering wheel. He knew they weren’t friends anymore, that whatever bridges they’d built between them as children and teenagers had been burned. You couldn’t build a foundation out of ash, but Liam found himself wanting to try.
“I’ve learned making friends on the field is a good way to stay alive,” Liam said quietly.
Oliver snorted and shifted in his seat. “I’m not a soldier like you. My job isn’t to make friends.”
Liam took the opening for a conversation he wasn’t sure Oliver would care to have, but curiosity won out. “When did you join MI6? You never struck me as the type who wanted to be a spy.”
“That goes back to you not knowing me and not needing to know me.”
“But I want to.”
Which was a truth Liam had slowly been coming to terms with since their first joint mission last year. Oliver was competent in a way that got to Liam, and his ability to tell Liamnoor tell him off was refreshing when it wasn’t annoying. Liam was used to people agreeing with him, not arguing. Oliver was a challenge, one Liam wasn’t sure he could ever fully conquer in a meaningful way.
There were too many old hurts littering their past to make their current association easy. But they were both adults, with jobs to do, and Liam was proud of the work he’d done with the SAS and the UMG, even if he wasn’t proud of the man he’d once been.
Oliver was quiet for a long few minutes as Liam drove them through the traffic choking the London streets. He knew he could’ve put the car into auto-drive, but he’d never been one to trust that option. He kept his eyes on the road, giving Oliver what little space he could in the car they were both stuck in.
“It doesn’t matter why I joined MI6,” Oliver finally said.
“Everyone in my family goes into service of some sort or another. I didn’t think I would like Sandhurst as much as I did, or the SAS. It turns out I preferred the structure of military life over the confines of the Firm.”
“You can’t escape what you were born into.”
Liam’s mouth twisted into a parody of a smile. “I’m well aware of that.”
“Then why do you keep trying to stay in the field when it puts your team at risk?”
“It’s my job.”
“Everybody knows what your job is now. They are more at risk with you around than when you’re not.”
Oliver’s point was one others had made to Liam over the past several months. He still didn’t like hearing it. “I’m a metahuman, but I was trained to fight before I became one. Why wouldn’t I keep fighting?”
Oliver leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. “There are other ways to fight.”
Which was true, but none of them were options Liam wanted to take. “Espionage?”
“If you join MI6, I’m putting in my resignation.”
Liam shook his head, a faint chuckle escaping his lips. “You don’t have to worry about that. I prefer the UMG for however long they’ll have me. Besides, I’d be rubbish at spy work these days.”
Oliver had nothing to say to that, and he didn’t offer up any more openings to continue the conversation. Liam let him keep his silence, the only sound in the car the music streaming through the speakers.
Eventually, they made it to Oliver’s home, the three-story building looking as if it had been built this century rather than last. There was no street parking, so Liam pulled into the driveway in front of the closed gates. He cut the engine and got out, much to Oliver’s annoyance, judging by the glare directed his way.
“You’ll get ticketed for blocking the sidewalk,” Oliver told him.
“Parking enforcement officers aren’t on duty at this hour. Let me walk you to your door.”
“It was my arm that was broken, not my legs, and the doctor fixed that.”
Liam ignored his pointed response and kept pace with Oliver to the other gate that led to the front door. Oliver unlocked it with the touch of his hand to the sensor pad. The gate swung open automatically and Liam followed Oliver to the front door.
“I’m not inviting you inside.”
“Not even for a cuppa?” Liam asked, only half-jokingly.
