#spencion

The warehouse was finally quiet after hours of noise, shouting, and gunfire. Broken glass glittered across the concrete floor beneath the dim industrial lights, and somewhere deeper in the building, a pipe dripped steadily into a puddle. The rest of the Crimson Hand had already cleared out with the stolen cargo, leaving only the lingering smell of smoke, dust, and gasoline behind.

Spencer Rae stood near a stack of old wooden crates, trying very hard to act normal while her heartbeat slowly came down from the mission. Her stopwatch hung around her neck, lightly tapping against her chest every time she moved. Loose strands of hair stuck to her face from sweat, and there was still a dark streak of soot smeared near her cheek from when one of the guards had nearly tackled her during the escape.

Across the warehouse, Dion stood near one of the shattered windows, casually lighting a cigarette like they hadn’t almost died twenty minutes ago.

The tiny flame briefly illuminated his face before disappearing again. He took a slow drag, exhaling smoke toward the ceiling while London’s city lights flickered faintly through the broken glass behind him. He looked perfectly composed, perfectly relaxed, like chaos simply rolled off him without leaving a scratch.

Spencer Rae hated how attractive that was.

She awkwardly adjusted the sleeves of her jacket before finally speaking. “…So,” she started carefully, trying to sound casual and failing miserably, “did I do okay?”

Dion glanced toward her, his visible eye half-lidded with amusement. “You’re asking me that after freezing three armed men in place?”

Spencer Rae rubbed the back of her neck. “Well… yeah. I mean, one of them almost shot me.”

“And then you stopped time before he could pull the trigger.” Dion took another drag from his cigarette before slowly walking toward her. “You adapted quickly. That’s rare.”

Something warm twisted painfully in Spencer Rae’s chest at the praise.

Dion didn’t compliment people often. At least not sincerely. Most of the time his words came wrapped in teasing remarks or smug little smiles that made it impossible to tell if he meant them. But this sounded genuine.

“You did well tonight,” he continued, stopping in front of her. “Very well.”

Spencer Rae’s face immediately started heating up.

“Oh.” She laughed nervously. “Well. Thanks. I just—I practiced a lot after the last mission because I know I panicked before and I didn’t want to embarrass myself again and I figured if I timed the freezes better then maybe—”

“You ramble when you’re nervous.”

“I do not ramble.”

Dion raised an eyebrow.

Spencer Rae immediately looked away. “Okay maybe a little.”

A quiet chuckle escaped him, low and smooth enough to make her stomach flip violently.

Gosh, she was doomed.

The warehouse suddenly felt way too warm. Dion was standing too close now, close enough for her to smell cigarette smoke mixed with expensive cologne. Close enough that she could see the strands of dark hair falling loosely across his face and the amused look lingering in his eye.

Spencer Rae’s thoughts completely derailed.

He was looking at her again with that expression…that soft amused look he got sometimes when she said something ridiculous. It made her feel like she was being studied and flirted with at the exact same time.

“You were impressive tonight,” Dion said quietly. “I knew recruiting you was a good idea.”

The words hit her harder than they probably should have.

Something in Spencer Rae’s chest swelled all at once, too big and too sudden to contain properly. Before her brain could catch up to what she was doing, she stepped forward, grabbed the front of Dion’s shirt with both hands—

And kissed him.

It was quick, awkward and completely unplanned.

Spencer Rae barely processed the feeling of his lips against hers before her brain restarted and immediately began screaming.

She jerked backward so fast she nearly stumbled.

“Oh my god.”

Her hands flew to her face as Dion stared down at her with visible surprise.

“I’m so sorry!” she blurted instantly. “Oh my god—I don’t know why I did that—I mean I do know why I did that but that probably sucked because that was literally my first kiss and I have no experience and you probably didn’t even want that and—”

She inhaled sharply, mortified beyond belief.

“That was probably horrible, wasn’t it?”

For a second, Dion just stared at her.

Then slowly, one corner of his mouth lifted.

He dropped his cigarette onto the concrete floor and crushed it beneath his shoe before stepping closer again.

“I think,” he said smoothly, voice lower now, “I could help you get some experience.”

Spencer Rae’s entire nervous system failed.

“W-WHAT—”

That was all she got out before Dion grabbed her gently by the waist and pulled her back against him.

The second kiss was nothing like the first.

It was slow and devastatingly confident, like Dion already knew exactly what he was doing and fully intended to ruin her with it. One hand slid behind her neck while the other stayed firm at her waist, keeping her close as he tilted his head and kissed her deeply enough to make her knees weak.

Spencer Rae’s thoughts dissolved instantly.

OH.

OH THIS WAS SO DIFFERENT—

A tiny panicked sound escaped her as she tried to kiss him back properly. Her hands grabbed onto the front of his vest while she awkwardly attempted to follow his lead, but every time she thought she was getting it right, Dion would kiss her again and completely destroy her concentration.

He pulled back just enough for their foreheads to almost brush.

“You’re overthinking it,” he murmured softly, visibly amused by how flustered she was. “Relax, hermosa.”

“I CAN’T RELAX,” Spencer Rae squeaked immediately.

Dion laughed quietly against her lips before kissing her again.

This one was shorter, teasing almost, and Spencer Rae nearly melted on the spot trying to return it correctly. She was trying so hard not to embarrass herself further that she somehow became even more embarrassing.

Dion looked entirely too entertained by this.

“See?” he murmured softly. “Already improving.”

That was what did it.

Spencer Rae completely short circuited.

Her eyes widened. Her heartbeat became physically painful. Her face felt hot enough to combust.

“Oh no.”

Dion blinked slightly. “Oh no?”

“Oh no oh no oh no—”

Her hands scrambled for the stopwatch around her neck before Dion could react.

Click.

Everything froze instantly.

The dripping water halted midair. Smoke from Dion’s discarded cigarette stopped curling near the ground. Dion himself froze mid-motion, still leaned slightly toward her from the kiss.

Spencer Rae stared at him in complete horror.

Then she let out a silent internal scream and bolted.

She sprinted across the warehouse at full speed, boots echoing through the frozen silence while her thoughts spiraled completely out of control.

I KISSED HIM. HE KISSED ME BACK. HE SAID HE’D HELP ME PRACTICE?! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT INFORMATION!?

She nearly slipped running out into the alley before continuing several blocks away from the warehouse entirely. By the time she finally stopped, she was bent over with her hands on her knees, breathing so hard her chest hurt.

Her face was still burning violently.

“Nope,” she wheezed to herself. “Nope. I’m never going back. I live here now. This random sidewalk is my home now.”

After another full minute of pacing and internally dying, she finally looked down at the stopwatch in her trembling hand.

“…Okay,” she whispered weakly. “Resume.”

She clicked the button.

Back at the warehouse, time immediately restarted.

Dion leaned forward slightly, still expecting Spencer Rae to be standing there.

Instead, he nearly stumbled when his lips met absolutely nothing.

He caught himself against one of the crates before blinking once and looking around the suddenly empty warehouse.

Silence.

Then realization settled across his face.

A quiet laugh escaped him.

“She ran.”

Dion straightened slowly before reaching into his coat for another cigarette. The lighter flicked open with a metallic snap, briefly illuminating the amused smile lingering on his face as he inhaled.

Smoke curled lazily around him while he glanced toward the open warehouse doors Spencer Rae had fled through.

“That’s adorable,” he murmured to himself.

He leaned back against the crate, cigarette balanced loosely between his fingers, still smiling faintly.

Then he exhaled smoke into the dim warehouse air and said quietly, “I’ll kiss her tomorrow.”

A small pause followed.

“And hopefully she won’t pause time halfway through this one.”