Reluctantly

Ava was dropped off in almost the exact same location as she’d left. She kept her spare pantsuit on until the last moment, until she was standing in that alleyway again.

“Leave,” Ava said, to the one that had accompanied her. “Shut down the window when I say. And if I see you even start to turn around then there are not words for how fired you are.”

“Right away ma’am,” he said, a little nervously.

She waited for him to return to the Bureau. Then, inhaled, she stripped off. Goodbye jacket, socks… And then, more slowly, she undid her blouse, pushed down her pants, folding each up neatly and handing them through the window.

She glanced up. He was still looking away; good.

She tried not to think about the fact the Bureau had a veritable album full of her naked body that they could peruse at their leisure. And that, thanks to time travel being time travel, she was about to make that album for them.

Ava stood for a moment, uncharacteristically nervous. She hadn’t had a spare set of underwear, so that was all she was wearing. All the clothes she would see for the next several hours, just a metre ahead of her.

She couldn’t believe that she was doing this.

She’d looked for whatever loophole she could find, but there were none. She carried a time courier in none of the images, and the Bureau wouldn’t allow her to hide one away in an unprepared time, so she didn’t have any easy escapes should people get close to her again.

That just left her running around the town naked, knowing full well countless photos of her would be taken, that all her colleagues would pore over those photos…

As soon as she said the word, her fate would be sealed.

“Director?” the agent said.

“Still here,” Ava said. She stared at her clothes, then moved back, cleared her throat. “Ok, I’m ready. See you in a few hours.”

“Ma’am.”

The window closed, and Ava immediately let her composure fall. She rested one hand on the wall, allowing herself a moment of weakness. No one was watching. Now, temporarily, she was alone.

No. No, no, no. This was really happening and she didn’t know if she could take it.

Then Ava pushed herself back upright, straightened her back, steeling herself. Well, she had to. However much she wished she didn’t.

She stared out of the alley, immediately shrinking back. Damn it, it was all very well giving herself inspiring speeches about the wellbeing of the timeline, but when faced with the reality…

She crossed one arm over her modest breasts, another reaching down over her cunt. She could at least do what she could to minimize how many revealing photos there would be, stop everyone getting a look at her.

Though she knew time promised she wouldn’t just hide out in this alley, she did linger for a bit. But, no, even if she hadn’t known the future she knew she couldn’t do that. It was a dead-end; if someone did catch sight of her, she’d be trapped.

She needed to find somewhere else. Maybe she’d get lucky and all the photos would be taken on a mad dash down the one street.

Or maybe she’d spend ages trying to just find a landmark to get photographed near. She couldn’t know.

Ava swallowed, unable to get comfortable when she was nude outside like this.

She could prioritise finding quiet places like this, havens for a few minutes at a time where she could at least begin to relax.

Or she could focus on getting it over with, staying out in the streets until she found street signs, landmarks. Hell, she could fucking pose near the things if need be, whatever it would take to make sure it was easy for the Bureau to recognise the pictures and rescue her.

She wasn’t sure which was more humiliating. Still, steeling herself, Ava **** herself to run out of the alley, and into full view of the street outside.