Now to destress

A/N: It's been a while. Too long, in fact.

7th January 2017

Today was the day she would spend some quality time with Wakeyo, Aviel decided. Work had kept them very busy, but Aviel was close to her breaking point and wanted to simply shove all her work aside into an imaginary dumpster, praying fervently that her work would just vanish and leave her alone for a week.

Alas, without talented personnel taking over the work, she simply could not, and her national perks would take weeks - months even - to truly bear fruit.

"Argh, fuck..." Aviel cursed, "Just let me be done with this..."

"You know there will always be more, Aviel," Wakeyo gently reminded as he entered her office, dressed in his military dress uniform.

"Ah, Wakeyo," Aviel looked at the Ethiopian as if he were her saviour, "Could we please go somewhere? I don't want to deal with anymore politicians for the day."

"As a matter of fact, it's just about time for dinner and for you to clock off work," Wakeyo pointed out with a smile, "We could have a private room to ourselves for dinner. Shall I organise one now?"

"Yes, please," Aviel all but moaned, and Wakeyo laughed in amusement.

"One private dinner room coming right up," Wakeyo said as he took his leave.

In private, Aviel wondered just why Wakeyo was so fond of her, judging by his relationship score of 85; Amos had a score of 60, but so far he seemed to regard her as something of a good business partner; they simply did not know each other that well and did not chat with each other outside work. On the other hand, she knew Wakeyo for years in the IDF and they shared weal and woe, fighting countless Arab warlords and skirmishes with their neighbours. He was practically her right-hand man.

And yet, they never did anything romantic, simply keeping their relationship as best friends and reliable partners.

There's no better time to broach the topic than here and now.

The dining room was fairly secluded and soundproofed with German engineering, one of the many improvements made to the Liberian Presidential Palace - the new one widely considered a haunted place - and they tucked in to a simple dinner of hummus, flatbread, and countless vegetable side-dishes with the occasional drink of tea.

"So, Wakeyo..." Aviel began, suddenly feeling awkward, "Is there... someone you are interested in?"

Wakeyo was quick to pick up on the implied meaning, and he nearly choked on a mouthful of food before swallowing it down with a glass of water.

"I-I beg your pardon?" Asked Wakeyo, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Well, I... I guess I noticed you giving me a few looks here and there?" Aviel stated evasively, knowing full-well she was bullshitting, "And not just any kind of look, it's the look of a man interested in a woman."

"Well, I... I..."

Never did Aviel want to bury her face somewhere to mask her embarrassment more than now, and she was very thankful for the privacy their dining room offered. Still, he did not expect Wakeyo to be so awkward around this question, and the Ethiopian soldier was racking his head hard trying to give a real answer.

"Okay, I admit," Wakeyo suddenly said, "I'm attracted to you."

Wait, what?