I have a surprise at the end, check the author's note 😉

Also, you probably noticed in the header just above that WE NOW HAVE A LOGO FOR THE REBELS!!! Thank you to the sweet and talented @yourwriterfriend 🤩😍❤😘 Tell me what you think of it in the comments! 

Rows and rows of shelves, boxes like drawers again and again, all the same, and they are all spread out before Anastasia's eyes. No matter where she looks, there are only more and more, and it means one thing: an enormous amount of work.

She has hoped it would be wrapped up in less than three days with some determination and elbow grease. But in fact, even with a lot of effort, three days will barely be enough.

"This is..."

She turns up the volume of her headphones until the sound of her old law lessons is drowning out Nathaniel's smooth voice, and even overpowering everything around. When she can't stand to hear those unfair rules anymore, it shows how desperate she is.

It will indeed be an insurmountable task; avoiding the penetrating gaze following all her movements is an insurmountable task, and it requires her more energy than the three-day cleaning of this gigantic room will ever. She has to fight against her whole being and the attraction pulling her to Nathaniel as she pushes her cart farther into the room.

Though she is already thankful that he isn't trying to get close to her again. She is very well aware that he is trying to talk to her, yet whatever he has to say, she doesn't want to hear it. That's why she is ignoring him, and she is surprised, and maybe a little disappointed, that he doesn't even look annoyed.

She is mostly doing this to protect herself, but a little part of her also wants to get back at him with the same treatment he has offered her the other day: being a stranger. Yet he doesn't lose his patience, nor force her to listen. He just tries talking every time she throws a glance in his direction – which is not a lot, since she is avoiding him – and every time she doesn't let him, there is only a little bit more defeat falling on his features. It is affecting her more than she wishes, and actually, even from the other side of the room, her skin is prickling.

It is like the wideness is intensifying the sensations because except for the shelves from floor to ceiling, covering the walls and forming seven alleys, the rest is empty, not even a chair or a table scattered somewhere. Besides, the eerie quietness makes it impossible to forget that they are sheltered from the rest of the world. No one is supposed to enter this room. Nathaniel has typed many codes and used many keys to unlock the door, the three doors actually.

Since the moment she has been 'requested' for this task, she has been conscious of this detail, which is imprinting deeper with each second they are alone together, and before it can find its way to her heart, she steps into the second alley, taking some distance. But even as Nathaniel doesn't follow her more than with his gaze, it is still pulling at all her flustered nerve endings.

It is like her pendant. If she gets too close to him, her head is spinning, yet when she is far, she gets lost, and through it all, the attraction is always there.

It is an immense effort for her to focus on her work, and she grips the crumpled paper of instructions like her point of reference, reminding her why she is here: to do her work, like the cleaning lady she is.

However, the rags and detergents in her cart are forgotten the second she lifts her gaze again, and this time, it isn't a pair of tenebrous eyes she is crossing. Even if she can still sense the goosebumps he is arising on her skin, something else is springing, something faint like a dormant power, something in the depths of her guts, something drawing her to the metallic drawers in front of her, and once more she finds herself hypnotized in front of a simple object.

Though it isn't about the piece of furniture in itself; it is what it can be holding. She has no idea, as she has been too busy avoiding Nathaniel to question about those archives, but whatever it is, the heavy security proves its value, and as she throws a quick glance around to all those massive shelves – still making sure to avoid the strong figure on the other side – the tug inside is growing into a spark of curiosity. When her shaking fingers graze the drawers, she knows it is the moment she can either put it out or let the wildfire take over inside. 

The instructions are still fresh and clear in her mind: 'It is strictly prohibited to open the boxes and drawers or look inside', and a new battle is starting with her conscience, one which her fingers, now used to fiddle with the rules, are slowly winning over the drawer knob. After all, it isn't the first time she breaks the law, and as long as no one knows it, it is harmless.

There is no camera inside – it is one of the explanations she remembers very well from the paper too – and even though she has repeated that Nathaniel is just a captain here to do his job and watch over her, she has not even an ounce of doubt that he would denounce her.

She still trusts him with her life. She still loves him, and the intensity of his gaze is heightening the loud thumps of her heart as she slowly pulls the drawer open, holding her breath and bracing herself for whatever is hidden there. Yet the air is still snatched out of her lungs when she uncovers... books.

The drawer is barely open through a narrow slit, but it is enough to let her glimpse various top heads of books, and she doesn't need to pull more to guess that the box is full of them. She can't anyway, as her whole body is paralyzed. Even her heart has stopped like crippled by the strength of what it could be, and she is afraid that the slightest movement could break it and turn it all out into a dream as she moves carefully and swiftly to grab one book.

Only when her hand touches the concrete cover, she lets her heart take off. The cover, the title, the pages, it all appears too real.

She has seen many books before, but none of these stories about perfect matches has looked like this. There is something more in the couple on the cover. They are different, and they are kissing even when the edge of a balcony is standing between them. There is passion written all over the picture, and even the title 'Romeo and Juliet' echoes these emotions, this bound despite the imperfections of their names together.

It resonates stronger and stronger inside her ribcage, and the law lessons are suddenly deafening in her headphones, which she almost tears off, needing to hear only her thundering heart.

"What is this?" She turns to find Nathaniel already beside her, and when he opens fully the drawer in front of him, her head is spinning faster than ever with all the possible answers – unless it is her heart, as they are all flashing with each fast beat of her heart.

She sees herself reading and re-reading the blank-covered book, the two young people getting arrested, Alex Carter talking about 'love, attraction', every forbidden moment she has spent with Nathaniel... They are all adding together and swirling inside to form hypotheses she doesn't dare to consider. But Nathaniel silences them all, except for her heart banging louder than ever, as she focuses her eyes on his chocolate ones for the first time since he has put a mask of steel on it and broken her heart. 

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. This." He waves his hand around and then, to the open drawers and the book in her hands, before diving his gaze into hers.

Today, there is nothing blocking her from the soft tenebrous shades, and it is so hard for her to keep a strong facade. He is baring his soul to her. Yet she can't let him take the last wrecked bit of her heart with just one look, no matter how much her heart is trying to escape her ribcage and leap to his eyes.

"This is my twisted plan for us to be together." He offers her a tiny smile, illuminating his dark gaze with a spark of hope, and she knows she has lost the last piece of her heart when he adds, "And free."

"What about the 'damages'? I thought it was dangerous and impossible?"

Of course, she wouldn't give in so easily, yet she's talking to him, and it's more than he could have wished for.

Now, in spite of how breathless he is, he has to plead because it's his only chance, and the stakes are higher than just saving their 'let it be'.

"It is dangerous." He swallows the heaviness of all those dangers. "But not impossible... and the damages... I think the damages have already been done. We can't turn back." He closes his eyes to try to translate the right words from his heart, though it's when he reopens them to meet her magnetizing gaze that the arguments are pulled out easily.

"These last few days without you have been the worst of my life. They've made me realize that I don't wanna live without you. But I also know that I can't lose you." A smoke taste is invading his lungs again at those words, making his husky voice waver with his breath, and his hands and all his being are itching to feel her soothing touch, or maybe just make sure it isn't a fantasy of his clouded mind.

Yet he doesn't dare to move even an inch closer, as her reaction to the last brush of his fingers is still too sharp. He can only use his words to try to reach her.

"Last week... when I saw you so close to hell... I panicked. All I thought was keeping you away from the dangers, away from hell... away from me." He glances down, his fingers fiddling with his compass pendant, as the 'let it be' engraved there appears like an impossible concept.

"I thought I was doing the right thing to protect you, but clearly it didn't do anything." His lips twitch into a faint smile as his gaze finds its way back to hers, letting her see that he knows what she's done, and in reply, he can glimpse a glint of something between embarrassment and pride, maybe just a gleam of her fire. Though it is the only emotion he can read through the mystical colors, and even if he's lost and petrified, he continues, "I hurt you... I was stupid, selfish... You were right, I'm a cowa–"

"No, I didn't mean it. I was just trying to hurt you. I..." She sighs, and as she leans a micro-inch closer, his heart is ready to soar with hope, a million butterfly wings already flapping in his chest. "You're not–"

"I am." He still tames those little bugs inside his ribcage as long as he hasn't told her everything that is inside his heart. "You were right, I'm a coward. I've always followed the rules, and no matter how horrified I was by those injustices, I never did anything. I wanted to be a hero, but I've never felt like one because I knew deep down that chasing insignias would never erase those horrors I've let happen before my eyes." The dark clouds are still lingering with the flashbacks, but today, he doesn't let them freeze him as he quickly focuses on other memories. "And then, you came... an angel."

The images from that day are coming back like a ray of sunshine in the darkness of his mind, and it is even better as his eyes rake down her angelic silhouette wrapped in white, right in front of him, and a true smile is slowly illuminating his features.

"You looked at me like a hero, when you are the heroine, fighting for justice."

He, he's only battling with his hands to not grab her chin and let her see and feel what he's witnessed from the start, her fire for great causes and her pure heart, as she humbly lowers her gaze down, and instead, he leans his head down to catch her eyesight.

"You've made me break the law... You've made me question everything... And I don't know if I still want to be a hero." His gaze bores into hers to show her his own fire of determination. "But I'm sure I want to fight for you, fight for us."

He doesn't have time to add anything, not even take a breath. The word 'us' has barely left his lips when she captures it on hers, sublimating it with passion, and he's breathing in this word and how perfect her lips feel on his.

The butterflies of hope are breaking free and taking his heart higher than ever, turning into fireflies when he returns the kiss with as much ardor. It's better than his wildest dreams. He's just wished for her to listen, but this... He can never let her go after this.

Her lips are smoother than he's remembered, warmer and more passionate, and although the kiss doesn't go past melting lips, it's more intense than all the feverish ones they've ever shared. There is a spark adding to the passion of their lips, a spark of forever. It appears within reach.

His hands are naturally sliding to her hips and jaw to draw her closer, and when she doesn't flinch away but grab onto him tighter, he finds a new unstoppable strength invading his veins. He's ready to fight an army to keep her this close, and this power comes from the 'us'.

'Us', is it this last word or everything he has said before that has made Anastasia snap and has ruptured her walls? She doesn't know, but it is the latter that has progressively mended her heart. With each word, Nathaniel has glued the broken shards together, adding pieces of him to patch up the wounds, and now, he is offering her heart back with his lips. It may be imperfect and fragile, but it is this 'us', and it is all they need.

When they pull apart, she stays close, afraid to lose this precious 'us', and it is kept in their wide smiles brushing against each other and in their ragged breaths mixing. Whether it is in the dazzling sparks of his dark eyes or in their compasses magnetized together, she gains the assurance that nothing can break this fragile 'us'. Just like her pendant, she has found back her missing part.

"Je t'aime," she murmurs on his lips, watching the brightest smile she has ever witnessed stretch them.

"Je t'aime..." he echoes as softly and assuredly, his thumbs feather-likely brushing her wet cheeks, and only at this instant, under the tenderness of his fingertips, does she take in the drops sliding down her skin.

She has promised herself she wouldn't let him see more of her tears, but she hasn't expected that he would pull them out of happiness and love. She hasn't even felt them burst out in the eruption of emotions.

"... more than anything." He crashes their wide smiles together in a messy kiss that still holds as much meaning and intensity, maybe even more as his left hand slips to their linked pendants and her own hand joins to close around the priceless items.

They could stay like this forever, but her reason reminds her that even if they feel invincible right now, time is still their biggest enemy, and that's why she forces herself to lean away and ask,

"So what's your plan to fight?"

"I missed you!" He chuckles, leaving a soft peck on the spot between her eyebrows before a frown can even form, although it's his gaze that quickly takes this unmistakable serious shade, a mix of clear honesty and dark worry, and as his forehead is resting on hers, he is offering her a close view of these tenebrous colors. "If we fight, I want to do it my way, safely, or at least, as safely as possible."

She nods and intertwines their fingers together over the pendants in reply, giving him her trust on this. It might be crazy, but she has offered herself entirely long ago to him, and even though he has hurt her, it has only been out of fear. She knows better than anyone else this blinding dread leading to running away. He has been there, patient and understanding through all her doubts, and mostly, he is here now.

It is more than his sincere words, which have been the right ones like always. It is the fact that he is standing in front of her, ready to fight, and everything he has already battled for this.

"I think that we need help. We can't fight alone, and even the rebels aren't enough – although their new member is pretty impressive," he adds, and as he cocks a knowing eyebrow, a warm rush of pride and giddiness climbs up her cheeks, which are already tickling around a large smile.

If someone saw one of the reckless persons responsible for the rebels' hack blushing like that... But only this man in front of her knows every part of her.

"I think that everything kept here can help us." He points around again, though her gaze is on his other hand that slides to his pocket, and it is growing bigger and bigger as she recognizes the familiar square of paper he is pulling out.

"You got it too?" she breathes out, making his own eyes widen when she takes out the same picture of Mr. and Mrs. Carter.

"He knew what he was doing."

"I guess." She can only agree with his smile, and if it is thanks to this old man that she has her Nathaniel back, she will be forever thankful for this unique couple.

"The blank-covered book has helped us open our eyes. So maybe all those forbidden pieces of art can show people that love and freedom are possible and beautiful too. They're kept secret for a reason, after all." He shrugs as if he wasn't making her heart hammer louder with each word, and the fact that he doesn't move an inch, keeping as many parts of their body from their foreheads to their weak knees touching, nor even blinking his gaze away, isn't helping. Though she wouldn't mind staying this close forever.

"My plan is to take as many pieces of art as possible during those three days, and then, I don't know how, but maybe find a way to spread them to the world."

"This is brilliant!" She has never thought she could possibly love this man even more, but he indeed always surprises her.

He has so many tricks up his sleeve, and when he combines his astute brain with his beautiful heart, he can make magic.

"You are a hero, my hero," she whispers, and through the shine of her eyes, she sends a warm rush of belief, spreading faster and faster in his veins with each beat of his heart. She could make him believe it too easily...

"I don't even know how to diffuse them to the world and gather people." He half-smiles, the dark clouds hovering too close to bring him back to reality, yet it doesn't stop the light in Anastasia's gaze, even when a focused frown appears between her eyebrows.

"I could ask the rebels!" she suggests easily, and Nate will never understand how she can look so angelic talking about that, while shadows of hell are already creeping up his mind.

He still hears Darrell's warning, 'before she makes her way on that list and...', and the haunting echo of sirens of arrest is joining in.

"I know you don't like them." She brings his attention back to her delicate features, a small wince letting him see that she can read him too easily. "But they're not the bad ones... They want the same thing as us, and they already have a large network of people."

"Do I really have a choice?" He smiles, knowing he can never win against her strong arguments, even if he isn't backing away either this time. "But, I don't want you to go back to the 'Photography room'."

Before she can even lean away, he tightens his arms around her, meeting her fierce lifted eyebrow. "The army knows about this rebels' base, and everyone who goes around there ends up on the lists. I think I have the perfect place to stay discreet."

"Another secret place?"

His light smirk instantly follows hers, the enigmatic glint in his eyes reminding her of all the secrets he has only shown her and tickling her chest with a unique warmth.

"You'll see. But for now, we have a lot of work."

"Okay, but how do we do to steal all those pieces of art without anyone noticing? And I also have to do the cleaning, which takes a lot of time."

A million questions are rushing in her head as soon as she is away from his strong arms. Everything feels so possible and infinite in his cozy embrace, yet the cold reality of the world outside always manages to catch her up, and he must sense it as he wraps his arms around her waist again.

"I've brought cameras to take pics, and I think they keep some on flash drives too. Besides, we won't take them all. We gotta select the most important ones to deliver the message. As for the cleaning, we'll do it roughly. No one ever comes here to check anyway."

These few simple words are making her heart hammering as strongly as his 'je t'aime', and it probably wouldn't make sense to anyone as she turns her head to stare at him over her shoulder with big adoring eyes, but it's the meaning and the thought behind that are going straight to her heart. He's really thought out this plan... for her... for them.

"And if we do it together, nothing is impossible," he adds the right words to make her heart explode with happiness and belief as he squeezes her closer in his convincing embrace.

"So no one will know?"

"No one," he assures her despite his own haunting doubts.

"You've really thought through every detail!" She points to her head and her beanie at the same time, which he pulls off now that they're inside, safe and away from the world and the cameras outside, and no one can witness the soft but forbidden kiss she leaves on his cheek. "Thank you for fighting."

"Don't thank me, I'm doing this for us." He peeks over her shoulder at the book her frown is already focused on: 'Pride and Prejudice', and as he joins her, they both get lost in the infinity of arts around; they both glimpse for the first time the possibility of a future together.

Here it is!! Nate's twisted plan is finally revealed!! Did you guess it? 😉😏 And do you think it can work? 

And for this special occasion, I have a little surprise... The official LOVE BUG'S PLAYLIST!! You can find it in the external link below and I'll add it to my bio! 😉 You'll find all the songs that make me think of my Natesia babies to set the mood and celebrate as they're back together stronger than ever!! 😍🤩

Tell me what you think of those songs, and don't hesitate to suggest me more that make you think of my story! Also, I wanna thank you for suggesting me pieces of art about love, you might recognize some of your answers in the chapters or in the playlist 😘

Like always, don't forget to vote ⭐ and comment if you liked this chapter 😉 Did it make you as emotional as I was? 😭😍

And I also wanted to mention again my Alexena babies because it's indeed thanks to them and all of you my readers that I discovered my love for writing and that Nate and Ana are here today!! ❤

PS: For those who don't remember (and didn't learn their lesson well 😏) Je t'aime = I love you, and JE VOUS AIME, my little rays of sunshine!! 😘🌞❤