Is this destiny?

Oni and Michael joined Sarah and Aiden in the study.

Sarah and Oni chatted about Oni\'s coding during her showdown with Marija and other random topics while Michael and Aiden discussed few tasks which Michael needs to take care of during Aiden\'s absence, mostly including the White Foundation.

"Starting tomorrow, Sarah and I will be offline for the next two weeks.", Aiden told Michael and Oni.

Aiden sent them a phone number. "In case of an emergency, use this to reach us, but do it only if it\'s an emergency."

"Don\'t worry.", Michael assured Aiden. "We will take care of things until you return."

"Yeah. You two relax and enjoy.", Oni confirmed.

"Since you are not going to Frankfurt, what will you do next?", Sarah asked Michael and Oni.

"Today, we will go to Paris.", Michael responded. "And from there we will catch an early morning flight to Los Angeles."

Sarah perked up. "An afternoon and an evening in Paris? Is that a date?"

"A date." Oni beamed. "And then we will have another one in Los Angeles before we resume our duties."

Sarah thought of teasing this teenager, but seeing Oni all bubbly and excited, the only thing Sarah could do was to wish them to have fun.

"We will be back on… July 5…", Sarah said and glanced at Aiden.

Aiden chuckled and gave Sarah a playful wink. "Give or take a day."

Sarah sighed and shook her head helplessly. He is not telling her anything, not even when they are coming back home! It seems that there will be more surprises.

Sarah decided to focus on Oni and Michael, because there is something important to talk about. "Until we return, I hope you stay safe and think about one thing…"

Oni and Michael perked up this sounds important.

"Aiden and I are thinking that we should have personal assistants, and we believe that the two of you are a good match for what we are looking for. To get an idea of what personal assistants do, you can look at Pam and Sophia, or Bridgette and Anna, or Steve and Jeff.", Sarah ended with few examples.

Aiden continued: "If you agree to this, you would stay by our side, help us out when needed, and act as our proxies in our absence. You are familiar with our family, the White foundation, and with the army of Chaos so there will not be many surprises if you accept, but you will be exposed to few additional things."

Sarah nodded in agreement and added: "Think of this as a job offer. Don\'t accept without thinking it through. If you reject, there will be no hard feelings from our side. If you are not comfortable with it, we would rather that you reject it now, than six months after you agreed to it."

"So… I am your assistant and Michael is Aiden\'s?", Oni asked Sarah.

Sarah confirmed. "As you know, Aiden and I are mostly together. That is why for us is ideal if our assistants are two people who are getting along well because if you agree to this, the two of you will often collaborate."

"How will that impact our free time?", Michael asked.

Aiden responded: "We didn\'t talk about specific work hours if that is your concern, but we are flexible, and I can assure you that you will be able to continue your missions related to Shadow Ravens. With enough of a heads-up, we can agree on anything. We will balance out your other duties, as we go. At this point we have a vague idea how this will work, so if you are interested, we will talk more about it after our return, and at that point we want to hear your expectations."

"We will get a salary?", Oni asked with a smile.

Sarah stifled a laugh. Oni is getting pocket money, and Sarah is buying her whatever she wants, does she need more money? Well, maybe she does. "Yes. If you agree to work as my assistant, we can come up with a number that makes both of us happy."

…

Oni was giddy when they returned to the room.

"Assistants!", Oni exclaimed while reaching for the medicine.

It is obvious that she loves the idea. And the fact that she gets to spend more time with Michael is a huge bonus! She thought how Aiden and Sarah travel often, will they go to accompany them? Ah, Oni would love to see that island with a glowing beach. Sarah told her about it and showed her photos, it looks magical.

Michael smiled while enjoying Oni\'s enthusiasm. He laid on the bed and waited for Oni to apply the medicinal cream on his eyes.

When Oni finished a round of her happy-thoughts, she realized that Michael didn\'t say a word since they got back.

"What do you think?", Oni asked Michael.

"About?"

Oni rolled her eyes. "About us being Sarah\'s and Aiden\'s assistants."

As much as she is excited about the idea of being Sarah\'s assistant, Oni is not sure if she will accept if Michael does not.

"I think that you like it.", Michael voiced his observation.

Oni scrutinized Michael. "Don\'t you?"

Michael paused while thinking how to answer this. "Uhm… Considering that Aiden and Sarah are not simple people, accepting to work as Aiden\'s assistant is a long term commitment."

"Do you have anything else planned?", Oni asked while sitting on the bed next to Michael with the tube of medicine in her hand. Why does it look like Michael is not willing? She felt like the room is slowly being drained of oxygen.

"I did.", Michael admitted. "I wanted revenge, and I told myself that I will give Sarah and Aiden five years of my life in their service as a payment for them helping me out."

"What will you do after five years is up?", Oni asked reluctantly while telling herself to stop crazy ideas which were assaulting her mind, like that he is going to leave and not come back.

Michael shrugged indicating that he is not sure. "I didn\'t have a plan. It was just the end of what I currently have without any idea of what comes after it. If that makes any sense."

Michael saw panic in Oni\'s eyes. He placed his palm on Oni\'s cheek and smiled. "But now things are different. And even thought I don\'t know what I will do in five years, I hope that I will be doing it with you."

Oni smiled in relief and a second later narrowed her eyes at Michael who obviously enjoyed her reaction. She slapped his hand away. "Why didn\'t you say that right away? Do you need to make it so dramatic and make me think that you will leave me?"

He rubbed the back of his palm. "We just started dating and you are already slapping me. And it\'s not the first time. This is domestic abuse.", Michael ended with a pout.

Oni remembered that she slapped his hand in the hotel when he was waking her up. Is it the same hand? It does not matter. She stifled a laugh at his childish expression. "Don\'t be a baby. How can this be domestic abuse?"

Michael\'s eyes flashed and in an instant he tugged Oni on the bed and held her in his embrace. "Did you call me a baby?"

She giggled while trying to squirm away (unsuccessfully). "Stay still and let me put the medicine or we will never go to Paris."

He smiled. "Are you looking forward to Paris?"

"Yes. I look forward to Paris with you."

Michael\'s smile widened. "Only Paris?"

"No. I look forward to everything with you.", Oni admitted.

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