Simon was on autopilot all day, mindlessly cleaning the dust from his apartment and doing his many loads of laundry. It was habitual at this point, the way he went from room to room finding anything he could get into the wash, whether it had been touched or not. He ran all his mugs through the dishwasher, as well, since they had been abandoned in the cabinet for almost six months.

It was almost 1730 when Simon remembered Lorelei. She was going to be instructing a class at 6, he recalled. Before he knew it, Simon was already dressed down in sweats and a tank, jogging down the stairs of his apartment building and into the crisp autumn air. The gym was only a few blocks away, so he made use of the distance and set a comfortable pace for the run over.

The air was crisp, burning his clung by the time he got to the glass doors to the gym. Luckily for him, Lorelei was bustling her way through them with too much in her arms. Simon came up behind her and caught the yoga mat slipping out from under her arm. Lorelei turned to him, gasping to herself when she got jumpscared by the tall man.

"Holy shit. Thank you - I'm sorry."

Simon took a step forward, opening the door for her while Lorelei stumbled for more to say.

"Don't worry about it." He shrugged one of his shoulders and motioned for her to go into the gym.

She rearranged her many bags and slipped through, dodging eye contact. Simon couldn't tell if she was afraid of him or if she was flustered. When she brushed past she smelled like weed and some earthy incense. He took a moment to memorize the smell before following her in. They got to the guided workout room and Lorelei set her things down just inside the door, grateful that her freezing cold waterbottle was no longer numbing her hand.

"Thank you, you didn't have to..." She glanced up at him with a little smile that wrecked Simon.

He nodded and set the yoga mat down on the opposite side of the doorway, leaning against the wall next to it. "All good."

He wished he could remember how to talk to women. It had been so long since his mind wasn't solely war and sleep and he was regretting never going out on the town with the boys. Maybe he'd still be a flirt like he was in college. Now he was a purely goal oriented man with no plans.

"Well... Anyway." Lorelei walked past him and began laying out rows of yoga mats.

Simon followed along and laid out the next row. He wasn't sure what caused him to move to help, whether it was some ingrained military habit to follow suit or if he was genuinely wanting to help the pretty lady.

"Oh- I- thanks. That's perfect." Lorelei blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. "You're quiet, you know that?"

Shit. She didn't know I was there that whole time? "Force of habit, sorry."

"Right," she stretched her arms above her head. "Are you joining my class tonight?"

Simon paused. "I'm not signed up."

"It's free, comes with the membership."

"Do I look like someone who does yoga?" He asked, not trying to sound offensive, but the thought of bending himself into yoga positions was laughable. Yoga was not for his body type.

Lorelei smiled at him, hands on her hips. "Anyone can do it, you'd be surprised. It's really good for you, logistically speaking."

"Maybe next time."

And so Simon spent the next hour watching the class from his spot on the treadmill. He had watched as she ushered a bunch of people in, glancing down at the screen of his machine whenever Lorelei's head looked like it was even remotely turning in his direction. The crowd of yoga participants were definitely diverse, just like she'd alluded to.

He glanced up frequently enough to catch her in various poses, all showing off her extreme flexibility. The more he watched the more he realized he would be incapable of bending in such ways. Time passed too fast and soon he was watching them all pack.

"Pretty, isn't she?" A voice came from his left, causing Simon to nearly fall off of the treadmill.

He looked over to find that same staff member from the night before, the one who had given him the flier to Lorelei's classes- Stacy. She supported a crooked grin, watching him from the corner of her eye while wiping down the treadmill next to him with sanitary wipes. Simon didn't answer her, too busy trying to adjust the settings of the machine he was on. Once he was at a walking pace, he looked back over at her.

"Make a habit outta scaring people?" Simon's eyes narrowed as he finally focused all of his attention on her- which he instantly regretted.

"She does, actually."

It was Lorelei herself, standing in front of both machines with her arms stretched above her head. She grinned at Stacy before regarding Simon with a small, shy smile. "I haven't seen you around before."

"Haven't seen you, either," he commented dumbly.

Lorelei's smile relaxed a bit as she moved her weight between her feet. It was as if she couldn't properly stand still. "Oooh, gotcha! You must be an early bird, huh? Couldn't be me. I had to set six alarms just to get up in time for that eight-AM class."

"S' a habit. Ex-military." Simon shrugged, finding the button that turned the treadmill completely off; being the only person moving was starting to feel weird. "What do you teach?"

Stacy looked between the both of them, grinning to herself as she stepped off of the machine she had been cleaning. "I've got stuff to do. Find me later so we can figure out what to do with Meelie!"

Lorelei nodded and waved her friend off, turning back to Simon and answering his question. "Lots of things, actually. I instruct yoga and guided meditation, but I'm also a licensed massage therapist. I dabble in acupuncture- certified, but it was really only a short-term hobby when my sister needed help with her bills."

He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, amazed at how easily she told him about herself. Simon had to take a moment to remember that this wasn't war, this was civilian life. "Is that Meelie?"

A small giggle escaped Lorelei, making Simon's chest ache. "Nah, Meelie is my sister's kid. I watch her a lot since Avery is so busy with work. She's a nurse for the long-term care facility down the street."

Simon offered a small smile, grabbing the towel hanging off the arm of the treadmill to wipe the sweat off the back of his neck. "That's cool,"

"Yeah! Well... enough about me! You said you're ex-military?" She rocked herself forward and back on the balls of her feet, smiling up at him with all the energy in the world. "You look a little young to be retired already,"

He tried to hide his grimace, but Simon had spent too much time behind a mask to remember to watch his own facial expressions. "Right, yeah. It's a long story, I don't want to bore you with it."

Lorelei shrugged off his rejection of the topic and moved on quickly. "Well, hey, I have a class at my studio in about an hour... You seem a little tense. Want to try it out? Free trial,"

Seeming a bit hesitant, Simon began folding the towel in his hands. "You sure? I'm still not sure I'd fit in with you're normal group,"

"Oh, don't worry about them," Lorelei shook her head while shooting him what seemed to be her signature grin. "There are all sorts of people in my classes, not just those posh ladies you saw earlier."

Simon bit the inside of his cheek as he considered her offer. He didn't have anything to do for the rest of the day and couldn't think of a single excuse to give her otherwise. Exhaling through his nose, he looked her over one last time. There wasn't a single hostile thing about her, which almost made him more uneasy.

"Alright," he nodded, watching as her grin stretched higher on her cheeks.

The walk to her studio was only a few blocks, filled with a mostly one sided conversation. Simon listened intently as Lorelei explained how she didn't normally host classes on the weekends. She said he was lucky she had scheduled such a random time, joking that it was fate. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but nodded along when she continued the conversation.

Lorelei led him through a rustic looking door and up a shabby staircase that looked like it was about to fall apart. Although the interior of the long hallway at the top of the stairs looked like it was as old as his grandmother, a brightly colored door awaited them at the end. Lorelei grinned back at him after unlocking the door.

"Wait until you see this," she commented, swinging it open.

His senses were immediately overwhelmed by the smell of incense. Simon's eyes scanned the room, taking in the floor scattered with pillows and mats, the walls filled with tapestries and fairy lights. Strangely, it didn't come across as inherently feminine. It had changed since she had posted about it on her instagram; the spaces where he could see the walls were now a forest green, there was a shag carpet in one corner with a small desk and art supplies strewn across it.

"That's for the niece," Lorelei noticed how his eyes trained on the little table. "She visits a lot since Lana started picking up more shifts."

"Hard on money?"

"Kind of," she sighed. "We used to live together, so I could help with Amelie, but now that she's in nursery school we decided it would be best if I got my own place. It's a fixer-upper, for sure, but I'm having fun with it. You wouldn't happen to know anyone who knows how to take down walls, do you?"

"Nah," he shrugged, looking everywhere but at her. He considered offering to help for a split second, but thought better of it.

"Oh well," Lorelei smiled and made her way further into the studio, leaving the door open for her students who would be arriving within the hour. "Water?"

"Thanks," Simon nodded, wringing his hands behind his back awkwardly.

He wasn't sure what to do so he settled on watching her grab a cup at a little refreshment station she had set up in the corner opposite to the drawing table. He tried his best not to stare. She grinned at him when she turned, glancing him up and down.

"At ease, soldier," she joked.

Even though it was lighthearted, Simon found himself relaxing at the command, hands falling to his sides and shoulders dropping. "Right, sorry."

"Don't be," She handed him the water and took a look around the room. Sighing to herself, she began tossing the floor pillows out of the way. "I forgot to put these blasted things in the closet yesterday. Sorry about the mess,"

"'S not messy." He answered between sips. "Just lived in."

"I guess you're right," Lorelei smiled and started cramming the cushions into a small closet. "Do you mind grabbing those mats for me?"

"Sure."

After setting the mats up together Lorelei checked the time on her phone. "Right, they should be here any minute." She plopped down on one of the mats and smiled up at him. "Make yourself comfortable."

"Okay," He carefully lowered himself to the floor and set his cup down beside him.

"Where are you from?"

"Manchester."

"Oh! Me too!" She supported a lazy grin while leaning back on one hand, the other tapping a rhythm on her knee. "How long have you been off duty?"

"Just six months," he answered, eyes straying from her and landing on the floor.

Lorelei studied him for a moment before deciding to skirt around the subject. "What do you do now?"

"I dunno," he awkwardly shrugged one shoulder. "It's hard to get back into the swing of normal life, I guess."

"Yeah, I bet you had a pretty strict schedule."

"Mmm,"

She stared a moment longer, focused on his furrowed brow. "You could really use massage therapy, you know. You hold your stress in your shoulders."

"Ah," he didn't quite know what to say, meeting her gaze. "You're probably right."

"Here," she scooted closer to him, hands hovering over his shoulders. "Can I?"

He nodded hesitantly, heart beating hard against his chest. It had been a while since he'd been touched; he'd been living in solitude for half a year, and other than the slaps on the back of the head from his captain, he couldn't remember the last time a hand had been laid on him.

Her fingers slid over him slowly, feeling out the knots. She started at the base of his neck and moved to the top of his arms before starting to massage the area between. Butterflies swarmed in his stomach, eyes closing to keep them from skimming the neckline of her top. Lorelei's hands paused over a particularly tense muscle near the base of his neck.

"You clench your jaw, don't you?"

Simon pursed his lips and nodded, suddenly aware that he was doing it in that very moment. He tried to loosen up, but her cold fingers trailing over his skin was sending shocks to his nerves. Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes, only to find her studying his face.

"Shit, sorry," she stumbled over the words, "You've got a pretty face, that's all."

"Oh." Was all he could manage. 

He couldn't find it in himself to believe her. No, she was probably just staring at the scars. 

A knock on the door startled the both of them. Simon stayed stock-still while Lorelei nearly flew away from him, as if what they were doing were wrong. He frowned to himself, glancing at the door. 

One by one her students started filing through the door. Lorelei smiled and greeted each one by name, letting them know they can sit wherever they want. Simon watched as she gracefully moved around the room, lighting candles and a stick of incense. He felt out of place among the crowd of mostly women, and had a strong urge to find an excuse to leave.

Nevertheless, he stayed put and followed along throughout the class - spending most of the time studying every one of Lorelei's movements.

Simon stayed behind to help put everything away, rolling yoga mats and tossing floor pillows to the side of the room. It was second nature to him, reminding him of when he was a private and had to clean up after sparring matches. Lorelei was saying goodbye to her students, waving them out the door one by one with compliments on how they did. 

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," she came up behind him on soft feet, her voice startling him back into reality. "Thank you,"

"S' not problem," he shrugged, hoping she didn't notice the way his shoulders flinched.

"Here," she pulled her phone out, scrolling through it until she found her contacts list. "What's your number? I'll send you my class schedules."

Simon resisted the urge to say no, reminding himself of what Price said. You need to try and be a real civilian for a while, Simon, go meet new people. "Right, here,"

They exchanged numbers, Simon awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "I should probably start paying you, then."

"Free trial," Lorelei smiled. "We'll talk payment if you keep coming back."