Luke's limbs burned pleasantly as the sparring wore on. 'Is it just me, or do I seem to have a knack for attracting beautiful, violent psychopaths?' 'Nope. You definitely have a talent.' Nirvana answered, her voice sounding distracted. 'How are we coming on disabling that suppression signal?' 'We're making progress; I've managed to circumvent most of the surrounding security routines.' 'Excellent. Once you're through, check your records. Tell me if we have any Saints in the area; I think there should be at least three by last count.' 'Affirmative...Luke?' 'Yeah?' 'Are...are you really attracted to this Alice woman?'<br/><br/>Luke's thoughts were silent for a long moment, as he dodged and countered Alice's strikes. After that last kick to the face, he'd started pulling more of his strikes. He was putting forth an effort, but she could tell from the faraway look in his eyes that he wasn't paying his full attention to their match.<br/><br/>'Maybe a little,' he replied at last. 'Maybe even a lot. But there won't be anything between us. Once this job is over, I doubt we'll ever see her again.' 'It's just that...if you<em>were</em>...and, if you wanted your privacy, I mean...I'd be happy to shut myself down, if you wanted...'<br/><br/>Luke dodged Alice's fist; his body glided on autopilot, and she barely grazed his cheek, a blow almost strong enough to send him flying. 'Nirvana, I would sooner cut out my own heart than shut you down. For anything. I don't know what I'd do without you in my head, 'Ana.'<br/><br/>It was Nirvana's turn to be silent, and Luke took a moment to escape from a particularly vicious hold Alice had locked him in; his shoulder dislocated as he twisted and jerked free of her grip. It was a pain he had felt a thousand times before, dull and toothless in its familiarity. Without a thought he rolled and popped the bone back into place, a small contingent of medichines applying a low-level anaesthetic and massaging the abused muscles and tendons.<br/><br/>'Besides,' Luke thought as he deflected blow after blow, 'I've already got the perfect woman. I don't need anything else.' 'Ana still didn't reply, but Luke could feel her return to work on the suppression signal. Her emotions were rarely tied to his; she always claimed they were too irrational and made her less efficient. But when they were strong enough, he could feel a glimmer of them for himself.<br/><br/>For just an instant, Luke felt like the happiest man alive.