Your hands stalled on the keypad of the safe. Though you have been through your fair share of missions that have been compromised, none have made your heart race quite like this.

You turned around to face Leo standing defensively - a measly wooden desk the only thing separating the two of you.

"Isn't that my question?" you fired back, crossing your arms, the sharp inflection of your words piercing your ears.

Mirroring your body language, Leo narrowed his eyes before answering. "After seeing you drink, do you think I would believe one glass of soju would do you in?" he asked rhetorically, almost scoffing that you thought he would be so naive. "I'll be the first to admit, you were convincing and I doubted myself but I followed you. Again, I ask, what are you doing here?" he questioned, his tone reflecting none of the warmth you recalled from earlier.

Losing patience with the uncalled for interruption, you withdrew the service gun assigned to you and your position when you had been promoted. You had no qualms with clicking the safety off of it - although you were unsure if you could bring yourself to pull the trigger.

"That is none of your business. Let me do what I came here to do." your response reminded you of a snake hissing to protect itself from a potential threat.

Your superior stared at the gun as though it were of no consequence. You supposed it was due to his experience.

"I think the better question is: who are you working for no?" the dark haired male cocked his head to the side facetiously. "None of us are leaving any time soon by the looks of it, you may as well tell me." 

Keeping your guard up, you decide to humor him. "I've been sent here to find out about Operation Conception. Our previous agents have been unlucky, so I was sent in to infiltrate your ranks to gather intel." your eyes focus on every minute expression that crossed your superior's face as you spoke. It felt surreal to you to willingly blow your cover and in front of the man you had become closest to on top of it.

You observe his Adam's apple bob before he...laughed? Not so much laughed, but sniggered at your answer.

"Open the safe. Open it. I have nothing to hide." unlike you. The unsaid words caused an unexpected, unwelcome sting. You grit your teeth and did as he said.

Ignoring the pair of eyes that burned a hole into your back, you focused on inspecting the opened safe. It was filled with various trinkets, photographs, and piles of files. Your eyes fell on three, thick, black folders and your brain sparked with the information that the operation had been split into three phases.

Removing the folders with minute difficulty, you place it on the desk with a loud thud.

"Before you open that, tell me Agent (L/n)," Leo enquired, his voice smug and his words cold, "what would you do with classified military plans?" he asked.

"Hide them." you replied simply.

Unfolding his arms to shrug, his eyes stared at the large pile on the desk. "You've wasted your own time." he responded cryptically and carried on to explain. "Each document is one forged by the three highest ranking members of VIXX ahead of time. Zelos belongs to N, Hades to me and Kratos to Ken."

Adhering to his explanation, your eyes widened. "That's impossible." you spat. Have you seriously wasted half a year of your life on a mission that was about military plans?

"See for yourself." is the only reply you received.

Frantically sifting through the first folder, you come across nothing more than graphs, topographical maps, intelligence gathered from stake-outs, plans that go into explicit details on how they will execute their mission and miscellaneous information such as weapons, uniforms and disguises.

Was this some elaborate scheme? A trick? You carried on to the next folder and the next, only to find exactly the same content. The only thing that differed was the target. You would have felt better if there was something there that would have been of interest to your Director and your agency but there was nothing. 

Slamming the last file closed, you huffed out in irritation.

"That's one thing out of the way. Your mission isn't the only thing is it? Or at least, I'm wondering why it is you've hated me since the day you arrived." your superior mused, once again undeterred by your raised gun.

He sure was talkative today. Not that you needed to be any more angered than you already were. You had just about had it. Not only had you wasted valuable time on a mission that was a dud but you wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug look off of his face. You would not have a chance like this again.

"A few years ago, there was a medic. He was just doing his job until he was killed...and the man who murdered him received a promotion or so I hear. (F/n) (L/n) was his name." you said, feeling the bitterness of father's death torment you again.

In front of you was no longer the man you had nursed when he was ill, or the superior who refused to let you pay for lunch just so he would have an excuse to take you out again, or even the man who reluctantly made you feel. Your eyes blurred to see none of that.

You note how the Captain's eyes widen in shock as he seemed to take you in for the first time since you met. 

Leo wordlessly took in your appearance, your resemblance to your late father striking him dumb. How had he not noticed it before? Those intelligent (e/c) eyes were exactly the same as his. It brought up the memory he so long ago wished he could forget. An older yet still fit man begging him not to shoot. To let him live if only for his teenaged daughter who only had him in the world.

"You remember don't you." you accused, closing the distance for the first time since he had appeared. Your eyes itched from the foreign stinging sensation.

"I had orders." Leo replied simply, his words now quieted and strained.

It was one thing to know that he had murdered your father and another to hear the confession coming from those same lips who mourned the death of his subordinate. Though your chest throbbed with the knowledge, you were all too aware that you were not in a situation to make any judgments.

You scoffed and you wondered if you would cry. "Orders? Orders to kill a man who was doing his job?"

Leo shook his head, avoiding eye contact. "It was war. There was a leak coming from our side. I was commanded to find the person and neutralize the threat by any means necessary. My leads led...to your father speaking to the enemy in the woods. I didn't kill him because I wanted to, but because he was guilty."

The tears you strived to keep hidden, overflowed. Your father...a traitor? Did the Director know? No...that was not right. It could not be.

"You could've just let him go. He wouldn't have..." you trailed off, your bravado from earlier all but dissolved.

"You know better than anyone that I couldn't." Leo objected, now more subdued by the uncharacteristic emotion overflowing from you. "It would've put us in even more danger. You know that." he pleaded his case anyway.

You knew he was right. You knew a lot of things now but none of it made sense. You betrayed a man you had promised your loyalty to. Your father was a traitor and you found it darkly ironic how you found yourself in the same situation. Did he do it for money? For his beliefs? Perhaps the answer would only be more heart wrenching for you.

"I..." words failed you. As an agent, you had been trained for that eventuality to never happen but here you were, your mind nothing but a television set with static.

"If revenge is what you want..." Leo began, interrupting your befuddled state, walked up to you until the tip of your weapon was pressed firmly against his torso. This time, he trained his determined gaze on yours. "I don't blame you. Do it." he urged, wrapping his firm hand around yours.

In the darkest parts of your mind, this was not how you imagined him holding your hand for the first time.

Time seemed to have been frozen, your eyes never leaving Leo's. Your blank mind had started to race. Is this not what you wanted? To take the life of the man who killed your father? Yet the mere thought of pulling that trigger made you feel ill. 

You could not do it. Whether you liked it or not, you had fallen in love with him and right though he was that he had no choice but to pull his trigger, it would take a while to forgive him.

Not that you expected the same in return.

"I can't." your clammy hands shook beneath the firm hold of your superior. You shook your head, feeling stray hairs stick to your teary face.

"Do it." Leo insisted, and his grip tightened.

"I won't. I can't do it." your tears blurred your vision. You had to leave before things escalated. You loved him but if you stayed any longer, you were both at risk of hurting each other.

Before a reply could come, you ripped your hand and gun out of his surprisingly strong grip and you did what came natural to most human beings. You ran.

You ran even though you heard Leo calling for you. You ran even though you knew he was chasing after you.

When you reached the sanctuary of your private quarters, you locked the door behind you and sank down against it. You ran your hands through your hair frantically, unable to comprehend what had happened.

You forced yourself to remember your training for when agents are under duress. You breathed in, held your breath until you were forced to exhale repeating the process until you could feel your senses returning to you one at a time.

With your newfound clarity, you knew you had to leave. Too much had happened for you to even contemplate staying and there was no way you would allow yourself to be fired. Removing yourself from your slumped position on the ground, you walk with purpose to where your suitcase had been stored and wiped the remnants of your earlier breakdown.

When you had completed packing what little possessions you had trudged with you, you sat on your bed, exhausted in every possible manner. You leaned your head on your now packed suitcase and stared at nothing but the white wall across from you.

The first thing you become aware of was the birds chirping outside of your window as if to remind you that not everything was as bleak as you thought.

Ignoring everything that was not the buzzing of your thoughts, you attempted to neaten your disheveled appearance. A shower and replacement of your creased uniform did nothing to hide your puffy face and reddened eyes highlighted by darkened eye bags. You endeavour to cover the imperfections with a light layer of make-up before leaving the dorm room.

As you traversed the many halls, you were grateful that you had the foresight to leave your suitcase in your room. The last thing you would want to is for rumors to spread. It would only add a complication that did not need to be there.

You knew that on certain days the VIXX members would choose to have breakfast privately to take care of administrative things. Today was one of those days. 

You knocked on the door and waited for a jovial "come in!" before entering. You supposed the rest of the members did not drink as much as you thought they would last night.

"Good morning." you stood in front of the occupied table and solemnly greeted in the most formal speech possible, adding perfectly executed ninety degree angle bow to it.

"Ah~ (F/n) we were just talking about the party last night. Have a seat!" you heard Hongbin cheerfully ask. 

You kept your gaze trained on the floor though you could feel Leo silently gazing at you, making you feel uncomfortable. It is at this that the other five men become aware of your silent and sombre face.

"Is something wrong?" N asked and you looked up to find his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as though he were pondering a riddle.

You took a deep breath. There was nothing stopping you. You bowed again. "I wish to resign." you stated plainly and it took a mere second for the objections to come flowing from all but one.

N holds up a hand requesting silence. "This is sudden. Is there a reason why?" the general asked, cocking his head.

"Yes. I have been sent by my agency to uncover Operation Conception." you answered honestly, a feeling akin to shame washing over you.

The surprise and loud murmur of talking does not surprise you. Out of your peripheral you observed Leo staring at you with wide eyes. No doubt he was still planning on what to do with the information he had.

Regaining his composure from the pure astonishment he felt, N looked at you as if gazing into your very soul.

"I take it then that you have found what you have been sent here for and that it is useless to you?" he asked, his voice firm and for the first time you felt unsure of the usually friendly man.

"Yes sir. And that is why I wish to resign. I have betrayed the oath I've taken." you replied, your eyes finding the linoleum floor.

The General did not reply immediately and instead returned his focus to s, his eyes lingering on Leo the longest.

"That would be the most honorable course of action but we do not have time for such luxuries. Evaluations are in less than a week. We won't be able to cope with the extra workload if you leave." N stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

That much you could do. If only to repair some of the trust you had broken. "Of course General. I apologize for not remembering." you answered, deeply bowing once more.

You do not waste time in departing and ensured to avoid the damning eyes of your direct superior.

Turning away from the empty space where his subordinate once stood, N immediately turned to Leo, stopping all conversation that the Captain had been engaged in.

"Whatever else has happened between the two of you, you have a week to sort it out. That's all I could do." N said severely, the discovery of betrayal occupying his thoughts as he too departed from the table.

In the days following your admittance of guilt, you found yourself pulling away from everyone seeking solace in your office or your dorm room. 

The other second-in-commands knew something of a large magnitude had occurred between you and the higher ups. Not that you gave them the time of day to be able to ask you such a question.

News traveled fast on the base and you knew from the murmuring during the practice sessions for evaluations that various rumors were making their rounds. Knowing the truth, you almost wished one of them were true.

The only upside - however unsure you were of how advantageous it was- was you had barely seen Leo. The office you shared would be suspended in silence, with the clicking of your keypad and the intense phone calls coming from your superior's connecting office. You trained your team at different times and if you needed to interact, an e-mail or other form of electronic communication would be used.

He seemed to busy and unaccustomed to him barely paying you any mind, your heart ached. You thought of at least a handful of things you could say to him but every time he came into view, the words dried up in your mouth. You did not know where he stood and it bothered you.

You tried not to dwell on it and focus on the fact that in a week you would be free to leave and to never see him again but the idea of freedom no longer sounded as good as you thought.

Before you knew it, six days had passed and you had spent the day quietly evaluating the skills of every STARLIGHT in categories testing every capacity necessary in the realm of your work. Everything from physical events that involved sparring and acrobatics to mental events involving encryption and riddles were tested with a keen eye. It helped that most of the members had started talking to you again after having proving to them that your mission was indeed over.

Relieved and heartbroken that your duties were over, you decided to go to your old office to begin packing up there as your dorm had already been in order.

"(F/n)." you hear your name being called from the connecting office.

It was Leo. Your heart raced at the idea of having any sort of interaction with him again.

"I was just about to start clearing ou-"

Your explanation was cut short. "Hello there Agent." 

Your head turned to your elderly director seated in front of Leo's desk, looking very amused and interested in your interaction with the younger man.

"Director? What are you doing here?" you asked, unable to keep the surprise from your voice.

"Would you like to tell her or should I?" your now smug director asked, folding his legs and leaning back in his arm chair.

Leo graciously tipped his head towards the older man.

"After spectacularly blowing your cover, twice, Captain Jung here seemed interested in the agency you worked for. Eventually I received a call from him a few days ago requesting we merge our agencies." the older man explained with a smirk, taking off his glasses to clean off non existent dirt. 

"A merger?" you repeated as though you were hard of hearing.

"Yes, I was as reluctant as you in the beginning but six days worth of phone calls does eventually win over a stubborn old man like me. I'm just here to sign." you do not think you had ever seen your director look so pleased until a thought occurred to you.

Was that why Leo seemed to have no time to even come up for air the past week? He had been hard selling your Director into a merger?

"Excuse me." you quickly said, leaving the office for a breather.

It took no longer than a moment to hear the footfalls of the Captain behind you.

"You're willing to merge an entire spy agency just so I can stay?" you questioned, looking straight at him. 

"Among other things but yes, if that's what it took." he replied, not missing a beat.

"I betrayed you. You killed my father. It's not meant to be whichever way you look at it. I'll leave and you'll find someone else to fill my position." you logically responded as though you were talking about the weather outside. You did not want to factor your emotions into it.

Leo closed the distance between you, not heeding your personal space, his eyes on you.

"You never gave it a chance. The point is, we know the truth about each other and that's more than we had before. We can work it out. Do you think it'd be that easy to replace you?" he asked, letting out a puff of humorless laughter. "If you leave, it'll be as before. I refuse to have anyone that isn't you." Leo took your wrist in his larger hand as if to make his point.

"And do you think it's going to be that easy?" you returned in like before turning to leave.

This time the Captain was not willing to let you go without a fight. Yanking you back by your wrist, Leo turned you around, threaded his free hand into your hair, causing the pins keeping your hair in place to fall to the floor as he claimed your lips with his own. It takes a second for you to realize that he was indeed kissing you, a gesture you more than willingly reciprocated. Unlike the first time, where you had the time to appreciate every single one of his attributes this time there was no trace of it. You only felt yourself respond to his challenge as if to say that you would prove him wrong although you knew that just replying the way you were announced your defeat.

Certain that you were not about to run away, Leo removed his hand from your wrist to gently cradle your face, your hands instinctively moving to grip the front of his jacket.

If you thought you could leave, you would not be able to now. You would be a fool to not realize he loved you and you him. You also realized, albeit begrudgingly, that you needed air. You did not think the kiss had lasted that long but your burning lungs told you differently.

Pulling away gently, you exhaled gratefully and smiling when you felt Leo press his forehead against yours.

"Let's sign those papers." his husky hushed voice suggested.

Biting your lip to keep yourself from grinning like an idiot, you nodded.

Falling in love rather than adding another notch to your killed list felt decidedly better as you followed your Captain - no, the man you loved, back into the connecting office.

A/N: I didn't think I'd feel so sad finishing this story but I am!I've been writing it since October when The Closer was released (insane right?). I'd like to thank everyone who followed this story from the beginning and for commenting, it gave me the motivation to carry on. A special mention to @0ttoke for being the person to get me started again. I truly appreciate it. I can only hope this was a good ending and is about 3,650 words. I took weeks on this because I felt the ending was tacky but seeing the way it turned out, I'm quite satisfied! I will be starting a new story soon based off of this most recent comeback and of course it will be another Leo x Reader! So dear readers, I'll see you then. Much love!<3