I launch at him with a growl, the tingling scent of metal burning my nostrils as I grab Beau around the waist and tackle him to the floor without any hesitation.

I grin in triumph at the success of my attack, and how my lungs don't constrict for the reason of panic, but instead of slight fatigue.

We both crash to the ground with a loud thud, Beau desperately sucking in a gasp of air after having the breath knocked from his lungs. My hands begin to move out of habit as I snatch both of his wrists and twist them behind his back, causing Beau to grunt when I yank him back by his arms into a kneeling position.

I pant for a few seconds, firmly holding his wrists behind his back as I wait to see if he'll retaliate or struggle. My grin begins to widen when he just sits there, his shoulders shaking from exhaustion as he desperately sucks in more breaths.

I let out a satisfied breath and release him, clapping him on the back in my triumph. "Well, I'd say I've successfully nailed both subduing an enemy and beating your ass." I laugh, tossing my now-messy braid over my shoulder as I move to sit beside Beau, who still hasn't moved. "How ya feelin'?"

Beau groans and slumps down into a sitting position beside me, dropping his head into his hands.

"If anything, I think I need to work on my endurance," he sighs, before lifting his head and giving me a weary smile. "I have to say, you are an extremely quick learner."

"No," I argue, wagging my finger. "I've already learned this stuff before, I just needed a bit more... reinforcement."

"Ah, I see," Beau drawls in his deep accent as he lumbers to his feet and offers me his hand.

I can't help but stare at his outreached hand, my own hand raising hesitantly. My heart lurches in my chest just before my fingers brush his, but I just can't bring myself to make contact, fearing what will happen.

Beau's eyebrows knit together as he waits for me to take his hand, before his face morphs into understanding. "Oh yes, I'm sorry," he says quickly, withdrawing his hand as a tinge of red creeps up his cheeks.

I grit my teeth at his shameful expression, before my hand finally darts forward and I catch his retreating hand. My fingers tremble slightly on his limp hand as I shoot him an annoyed glare.

"Are you going to help me up or not?" I snap, my lungs tightening as the heat from Beau's palm seeps into my fingers.

"I-yes of course," he nods surprisedly, before jerking forward to help me up.

The second I rise to my feet, I quickly drop his hand and smooth my sweaty palms down the fabric of my leggings, trying to subtly suck in a few breaths to ground myself.

We stand there in an awkward silence as Beau continues to stare at me dumbfoundedly, before a drop of something trickles down my nose. I quickly wipe it away, my eyes widening when I see a streak of blood on the back of my hand.

"Merde!" Beau exclaims, his eyes glowing as he leans forward and I feel more drip down. "Did I hit you that hard?" he asks, referring to the moment just before I had tackled him and he had punched my directly in the nose.

I use to bottom of my palm to wipe it away, scowling when more blood continues to drip down my nostril. I tug the hem of my shirt up and cover my nose from Beau's observant eyes.

"I'm fine," I state, my voice muffled by the fabric as my face heats from how close his face is to mine.

"No, you're not." Beau decides, thankfully stepping back as the heat from my cheeks mercifully recedes. I suck in a relieved breath as Beau walks to a white box that has been mounted to the wall. He opens the lid to reveal a large red cross logo painted on the inside, and grabs a roll of gauzes from the ensemble of first aid tools.

My breathing shallows as he strides confidently towards me, gritting my teeth as he stops before me and holds the gauze up. "Here, we can use this to help stop the bleeding," he says, his eyes narrowing when I don't remove the hem of my shirt from my nose.

"Oh come on Harper, just let me help you." Beau urges, giving me an expectant look. "I already feel bad enough for hurting you, at least let me fix it."

I roll my eyes and pluck the roll of gauze from his fingers as I drop the hem of my shirt from my nose. "There's no reason for you to feel bad," I state, ripping a strip of the fabric from the roll and pressing it to my nose. "We were sparring, it's expected that one of us would eventually 'hurt' each other. And besides," I pause, tossing him the gauze as I give him a wry grin. "I certainly left you out of breath on our last round."

Beau sighs and shakes his head, though I see a slight smirk tug on the corners of his lips. "Fair point, I suppose."

"So, does that mean you would like to prove me wrong and go for another round?" I pry, laughing when his smirk turns to a mock scowl.

"Sacrebleu woman! How about a break?" he cries, spinning on his heel to return the roll of gauze back to the medical box.

"Rest is for the weak," I sing mockingly, clasping my hands behind my back as I follow him. "And besides, it seems we have a lot more ground to cover." I remind Beau, biting my lip as a little jolt of anxiousness pierces my gut. We only have so much time, will I be ready in time for the next evaluation on Sunday?

"I think you'll be ready in time," Beau assures me, closing up the first-aid box after he places the gauze back. "It shouldn't be too hard to fix your gun problem."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" I challenge, crossing my arms when he turns to face me with a large grin on his lips.

"Easy," he chuckles, as he crosses his own arms. "I just point a gun at you and use... what word did you use earlier? Oh yes, reinforcement."

I snort and roll my eyes. "It's adorable that you think I would ever allow you to point a gun at me, now what's your other idea?"

Beau scoffs at the word 'adorable,' as I quickly spin on my heel to walk away from him, a smirk forming on my lips.

"Adorable? Why I've never been so inadequately described before and-hey come back here you little diablesse!" he snaps as he marches after me and steps into my path.

"Diablesse?" I laugh, flipping my braid back over my shoulder as Beau seethes before me. "Why how creative, have I wounded your inflated ego that easily?"

Beau laughs unhingedly before me as he lifts his palms and grips his hands into fists, shaking them before me. "You are so good at being so infuriating."

"And you," I taunt, jabbing my finger into his broad chest. "Are just so fun to tease."

Beau grits his teeth as we both glare at each other, our noses inches apart while the room around us seems to crackle with tension. My eyes shift down to my finger, which is still digging into Beau's chest as he takes in a shuddery breath.

I feel my lungs tighten in warning, so I quickly step away and put some distance between us, my eyes flicking back up to see Beau close his eyes as he draws in another deep breath.

"We should also talk about that," Beau says softly, opening his jade eyes.

"And what's 'that?'" I drawl irritatedly, though I know very well what he's referring to.

"Your hesitation, Harper. We've been working on building our relationship and getting to know each other better, but as we saw just hours ago, being in close contact with me still triggers you..." Beau pauses, his jade eyes darting across my face to observe my expression when I continue to stare at him.

"Well, I think I've improved somewhat during our sparring session," I point out after a few seconds, crossing my arms. "I was fine with subduing you, and I was able to take your hand when you tried to help me up."

"Yes," Beau agrees, tilting his head to the side as one of his eyebrows lifts. "But I still think you need more improvement. The Louvre's charity ball is coming up, and we'll be expected to dance together at least once since we are mission partners... if I asked you to dance with me right now, would you be able to do it?"

My eyes dart away as I imagine the two of us dancing together, Beau's hands wrapped around my waist and my hands set on his shoulders. Just the thought of being in his arms causes the guilt creeping in the back of my mind to flare up, triggering my heart to lurch.

I gasp, my hand flying to my chest as I suck in a deep breath and attempt to gain my bearings. When I look back up at Beau, he has uncrossed his arms and looks down on me with a sympathetic frown.

"Exactly," he whispers softly, causing me to grit my teeth in frustration.

"Oh fine, point taken!" I snap, turning away. "And what did you have in mind to fix that then, hmm?"

"Well," Beau says stepping beside me. "I thought maybe we could start with the small things, and work our way up to larger things... like dancing for example."

I chew on the inside of my lip as I process his idea, "And what would these 'small things' be?"

"We could do handshakes, hugs, trust falls, and work our way up... kind of like in grade school."

I laugh bitterly and rake a hand through my messy braid, loosening it until it fully becomes undone. "Funny how we have to revert to building trust like five-year-olds do, what, should I ask you if you want to be my friend as well?"

Beau smirks and attempts to give me a humorous wink, trying to lighten the mood. "I do believe a few days ago, it was you who had come knocking on my door asking to be my friend."

"Did I? Well, I sure do regret that decision now." I jeer, tying my long black hair up into a messy bun.

"We'll see about that, now do you want to try some of those 'five-year-old' exercises, or we could try getting to know each other a little bit more before we jump into that... almost like a warm-up round?" Beau asks, running a hand through his own messy curls.

"I suppose that's a good idea." I admit, tying my bun off before I fully turn back to him. "What if we asked questions about each other back and forth, so we can find things we have in common?"

Beau nods as he considers my suggestion. "That sounds like a good idea, would you like to start?"

"Sure," I say, rubbing my hands together as I drop down onto the floor into a somewhat comfortable sitting position. "How about you tell me more about your cello, when did you start playing?"

Beau laughs and rubs his chin thoughtfully, as his jade eyes seem to lighten a little. "Ah, my cello. You know, I find it very interesting that of all things, you decide to ask about that." I roll my eyes as Beau drops down beside me, his knee brushing my thigh.

"Just answer the question, Beauregard."

Beau snorts at the use of his full name, but relents. "My mother gave that very cello to me on my ninth birthday. It was hers when she was younger, but at the age of twenty-six, three years after she had my brother and I, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis."

Beau shakes his head sadly as a pang of sympathy pierces through my heart. "It was only a matter of time before her joints swelled, and it became too painful to play... which is why, when she thought I was old enough, she gave me her cello."

Beau sighs as I imagine the horrible image of me not being able to play the piano anymore because of physical pain. "I'm so sorry Beau, that must've been very hard for her," I say softly, my hand automatically lifting up to comfort him, but I hesitate just before my fingers brush his shoulder.

Beau's pale eyes lock onto my fingers, as he gives me another sad shake of his head. "Yes, it was very hard for her. But my mother is a strong woman, despite her physical limitations. She was still able to raise my brother and I, and find happiness even through her pain."

I drop my hand and share his smile. "She sounds like an inspiring woman."

Beau nods somberly, before shaking his head and attempting another smile, one I can tell is fake. "Anyways, I believe it's my turn to ask you a question."

A/N-

Hey guys! I'm not going to lie, I had to take a little 2-week break from writing for a bit, but this week I'm back and ready to pound out those words!

I recently discovered a Wattys Bootcamp that takes on Mentees and gives them Watty-award-winning mentors to help them shape up their book for the 2022 Wattys! I'm going to finish book 1 up, and apply myself... hopefully I get accepted!

Wish me luck, and don't forget to vote and add this book to your reading list! It means a lot to me :)

~Syd

Also this chapter has to be one of my favorite ones to write, but I'm sure there will be plenty more to come ;)