As Michael reached for his keys, a voice from behind startled him, freezing him in place. "Long time no see, Michael."

 

Turning, he found himself face-to-face with Anna, his ex-girlfriend and former research partner. Her sudden appearance, like a ghost from his past, took him aback. Anna had been his closest confidante, their partnership in the lab leading to significant breakthroughs. Yet, their personal relationship had taken a toll, ending more abruptly than either of them had anticipated.

 

Their greeting was awkward, a tangible distance between them despite the physical proximity. Michael, ever the one to diffuse tension with humour, couldn't help but jest, "Anna? What are you- have you turned into my personal stalker now?"

 

Anna's laughter, warm and familiar, momentarily bridged the gap of time and heartache. "Maybe I have. But really, Michael, would it kill you to offer a cup of tea to an old friend...inside?”

 

Michael's heart skipped a beat, her presence stirring old feelings he thought he had buried. Yet, his response came out colder than intended. "Talk? What is there to talk about?"

 

Without hesitation, Anna reached for his wrist, her grip firm yet pleading. "Please, Michael. I won't let go until you agree. It's important."

 

The earnestness in her eyes, the touch of her hand on his wrist—it all served as a vivid reminder of what they had once shared. Michael felt a rush of emotions, a mix of frustration and unresolved affection. "This is the last time, Anna," he said, his voice betraying the conflict within.

 

"Or maybe it's just the beginning," Anna countered with a grin, undeterred by his reluctance.

 

Rolling his eyes but unable to suppress a reluctant smile, Michael unlocked the door, leading Anna into the familiar chaos of his apartment. As they stepped inside, the weight of the day's earlier events—the confrontation with Professor Ellis, the disheartening trip to the pharmacy—seemed to fade into the background, overshadowed by the unexpected presence of someone who had once meant the world to him.

 

Anna, ever curious, began exploring immediately, her demeanour reminiscent of their early days together.

 

The familiar scent of cigarettes on her brought him back to the present. "You smoke again?" he asked, noticing her unease.

Her attention quickly turned to his research notes scattered about. "Still at it with the research?" she probed, her interest piqued.

 

"Why ask? Planning to steal more of my work?" Michael couldn't help the bitterness that crept into his voice.

 

Anna's reply was frank. "I had to do it," she said, her expression serious.

 

"And become a billionaire in the process?" Michael mocked, his frustration evident. "Why are you here, Anna? Surely you've got everything you ever wanted."

 

"It's not about the money or the position," she insisted, her gaze steady on his. "I did what I did to prevent my family's company from falling and to stop a monopoly. But that's not why I'm here."

 

"Then why?" Michael asked, genuinely puzzled.

 

"I missed you," Anna confessed. "Everything I do feels empty without you. I can't focus like I used to."

 

Michael scoffed, finding it hard to reconcile her words with the reality of her newfound status. "Haha, right… because the high life and hanging out with celebrities isn't exciting enough?" 

 

"Watch your mouth," Anna snapped, her patience wearing thin. But Michael couldn't help himself and insulted her again, pushing her to her limit.

 

In a flash, Anna had him pinned down on the sofa, her hands gripping his collar, her face inches from his. "Do you really think I’m that low? If you want I can’t let those psychos take over and we see how it will turn out.” she growled. 

 

Their heated exchange was cut short by Michael's sudden coughing fit. Anna's anger turned to panic as she searched for his inhaler, her actions swift and caring as she helped him.

 

Once he was able to breathe again, she gently laid his head on her lap, their earlier confrontation giving way to a more tender moment.

 

"...sorry," Michael mumbled under his breath, laying on his side curled up with his head on her thigh. He acted like a child, seeking to gauge his parents' reactions.

 

'How childish...' He cringed.

 

"Nah... forget it." Anna played with his soft black hair, almost massaging it. She felt his hand rest on her knee as if asking for forgiveness. She held back a chuckle, seeing this cute side of his.

 

As he lay in her lap, recovering, they talked. Something Anna had thought about for a long time beckoned her. She broke the silence. "...Why?"

 

"Hmm?"

 

"Why did you leave out of nowhere?"

 

"Isn’t it obvious?" He glanced up at her as her hand landed on his neck.

 

"I doubt the obvious you tried to make me believe." She felt his pulse rise. "You could have easily stopped me from patenting the cure. Even if you couldn’t, you could have just gone to one of my pharma competitors and shared a variant of the cure to destroy me..."

 

Knowing Michael, there were hundreds of ways he could have stopped her if he had tried.

 

Anna rotated his head to look into his eyes. "But instead, you vanished... did nothing. Let me do what I please. Why?"

 

Michael thought back to their groundbreaking discovery, a cure akin to finding the holy grail of modern medicine. He had wanted to make it publicly available, for it to belong to humanity. But Anna, seeing the bigger picture through the lens of her family's pharmaceutical empire, had chosen to patent it.

 

Michael had seen her actions as a betrayal. He thought Anna had become what they sought to destroy. But she argued that open-sourcing the cure would have simply allowed it to be exploited by the very forces they sought to challenge.

 

That only left her with one option: fighting fire with fire. Either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain huh...

 

"You knew I was right, didn’t you? But couldn’t bear the burden of being with me." Michael's face blushed, avoiding her gaze.

 

"T- That’s one wild hypothesis."

 

"One that you didn’t deny." She grinned and whispered in his red ears. "We can put it through a test."

 

"Huh?"

 

Gripping his cheeks, Anna tilted and lifted his head up while she leaned down.

 

“Oi wait a minut-!? ~” The surprise attack allowed her to plunge her tongue immediately into his mouth. Shallowing whatever else he’s trying to protest. 

 

Pinning down his defiant arms with one hand, she continues fiercely tasting her sweet prey with longing. Their tongues intertwine as he tries to push hers out, but falls into a trap as she sucks his tongue out of his mouth into her own. She bit it down to prevent it from escaping back and salvor her capture. 

 

Michael's moaning cries only serve to reel her up. Realising he is no match for her advance, he submits and opens up, allowing to freely devour him. Soon, he found himself dancing along with her burning kiss. Anna still knows how to make him go crazy and breathless like usual. She too also missed breaking him down like this. 

 

Short of breath, she finally let him go and gasped for fresh air. Breathing heavily, she wiped away their drool and gazed down at the dishevelled state Michael was in, also panting hard.

 

'Wow, does he always look this cute?'

 

Michael's gaze lazily met Anna's, which now shimmered with a predatory satisfaction at having reclaimed him.

 

"Guess I was right, I’m still in your heart." She licks her lips. 

 

“Shameless. Idiot, couldn’t you just leave me alone!” Anna held him down, enjoying the childish fit of rage from him. Chuckling, she starts shifting. 

 

Now straddling the helpless Michael, she has to hold back her sadism… at least for today. She intertwined their fingers, pinned it down beside his head and leaned down. Michael brace himself and squeeze his eyes shut. But Anna only touches their forehead together. 

 

“Listen Michael,” she whispered. Her warm breath brushes his nose. A faint smell of chocolate and herbs corrected his suspicions. Fake cigarettes…

 

“Give me a chance," Anna pleaded, her voice soft but earnest. "I’m gonna make it right. I'm going to end this, with or without you. But I'd rather it be with you. Be mine again, Michael."

 

Coward and escapism could never last. In that moment, Michael realised the enormity of what lay before him. A chance to heal not just the rift between them but to address the larger battles they faced. The path forward was fraught with complexity and compromise, but perhaps, just perhaps, it was worth exploring together.

 

A leap of faith together.