Time went on. Eliza denied Ares any more access to her home, continued to shut down his offer, and she absolutely made sure not to see him when the bounties were low. That only worked for so long until the man made it his mission to arrive at her home every morning and suggest breakfast again and again. It was too much.

To her dismay, she kept joining. He always took her to that same diner and always asked her the same questions. When could he move in? Where would he have to park his starship when he did? Were there apartments that hand a two-ship hangar that was affordable? And every time, Eliza ignored him. It was less exhausting that way.

Ares loved every minute of it. Each time she avoided answering his questions, he slowly saw her resolve crack. The cracks got bigger when he sent her a sly smile. She was just fighting him for the sake of it and he knew it. Honestly, was it so bad to live with him? There was no reason she couldn't trust him. He'd be the perfect roommate. Most bounty hunting teams lived together, regardless of gender. It just made everything easier. Plus, it would be incredibly fun to bother Eliza in the middle of the night. All he had to do was convince her.

That was no easy task. With her pushing him away every chance she got, his progress was stagnant. So, he changed his strategy. Instead of only seeing her in the mornings and hunts, he started to show up to her apartment throughout the day.

Eliza was lounging on her couch when he first surprised her. She was hardly watching a random cartoon as she let a nap consume her. It was another slow day, so after breakfast, she did some shopping and cleaning. Then she found herself dozing off on her couch. She was seconds away from sleep when a knock at her door scared her. Her heart raced and her adrenaline was pumping. She wasn't sure where the sound came from, but when it happened again, she groaned and laid back down.

"Go away! I'm not interested in visitors right now! Come back never!" Eliza wasn't sure her voice carried through the door, but she didn't care enough. Her eyes closed again.

"You can't get rid of me that easily!"

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. She cursed. "You're even less welcome! Go find someone else to bother!"

Ares laughed. He wondered what she was doing in there to make her so irritable. Eliza wasn't one to yell, at least from what he gathered in the months he got to know her. She was firm when she had to be, but her voice was always steady and a comfortable volume. He caught her at a bad time. Too bad. "Just let me in, Lizzy! I have something important to talk with you about." A little white lie couldn't hurt, right? Especially if it got him one step closer to his goal.

"I don't believe you, Ares. You just want to get inside my home."

"Maybe you should quit talking to me through the door and just open it. I'm sure your neighbors would appreciate the peace and quiet."

Damn. He was right. Sometimes living in an apartment complex was bothersome. If the building owners were smart enough, they'd reinforce all the apartments with soundproof structures because ships could be heard day and night whenever someone came home. Eliza mastered the art of killing her thrusters just as she neared her hangar. It was terrifying the first few times she did it. She nearly went through the other side, but once she understood the physics of her ship, she landed perfectly. There were hardly any noise complaints about her starship after that. Her yelling across her apartment though, that would get a few neighbors fired up.

Sighing, Eliza rolled off her couch and stood. She stumbled a moment from messing up her equilibrium but once she was steady, she shuffled toward the door. Upon opening it, she glared at Ares.

"You're lucky that I have cranky neighbors who complain about everything." Eliza stepped aside to let the bounty hunter in. "I'm only letting you in for the sake of them. I don't want you here."

"Keep lying to yourself, Lizzy."

The apartment door shut a little harder than necessary and the shorter hunter pushed Ares against the wall as she walked past him. Somehow, Ares gracefully leaned against the wall as if she never touched him. Eliza didn't care how he did it, frankly, she wished she hadn't seen it. All she could think about was how good his balance was, more proof of his hunting ability. Of course, she would never admit that she thought he was good at his job. No need to make his ego inflate more. He'd think she was starting to trust him if she complimented him out loud.

That evening, Ares had nothing important to tell her. Of course. After hours of Eliza trying to pry out an explanation for his unfortunate visit, she realized he only came by to bug her. She immediately kicked him out her door. He left her with a joyful goodbye and his light laugh before she slammed the door in his face. She locked it and stomped back to her couch. His stupid laugh echoed within the confines of her skull, giving her a migraine. Bastard.

Two months. Two. Whole. Months. Sixty-one days of Ares’ incessant questions, Eliza finally lost her mind. They were flying to their next bounty over in Nemesis when Eliza tore off to the right to land in the middle of the wasteland. Ares followed her in his own ship, a sleek-looking arrow in the sky.

Eliza jumped out of her ship as soon as he landed and stomped over to him. She ignored the harsh wind that matched the chaos of a tornado, twisting her long hair in a dance. Ares' hair was in just as much trouble as hers once he climbed out of the cockpit.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong? You’re what's wrong!" she said. Her voice easily overtook the howl of Mars' weather. "I accepted your offer to be partners to get you to shut up, not because I wanted to. If I would have known you were going to be insufferable, I would have never said yes. Now all you do is irritate me and I regret ever agreeing to whatever this is."

The look on his face was not what Eliza expected. She hoped he'd at least be mad so they could scream at each other, getting all the tension expelled. Instead, Ares had the brightest smile on his face. Even with the sandy wind causing his hair to obstruct his face, she could see the glint in his eyes. A slew of rude names riddled her mind. He was hoping for her to break.

Ares was shaking. Eliza looked like a proper madwoman. Like Medusa with her insane hair. The last thing on his mind was her outburst. Sure, he was pleased, but she was a vision standing before him. He saw her raw power, her passion. If he could bring that side of her to the forefront, he'd be glad to pester her until the day he died. That had to be the reason why she did so well before he found her. When he felt pride swell up in his body, his lips automatically turned up.

"Wipe that stupid smile off your face, Ares. I'm not sending compliments your way."

"You’re incredible."

Eliza wasn't sure she heard him. He definitely said something, but he didn't yell as loud as she had been. Ares' voice was just loud enough, but the wind cut through the bass of it. If he said what she thought he said, her body froze.

"What?"

Perfect. Ares leaned forward, his mouth right beside her ear, and he repeated the same line. Her face was priceless. Her arms fell from her hair and she peered at him through her auburn locks. Her eyes were wide and also suspicious. Eliza's mouth tried to form some sort of coherent statement, but Ares detected no sound coming from her lips. Where would he be now if he hadn't snuck up on her ensnaring their shared bounty head?

Suddenly, her mouth closed, and she turned. Ares stared after her as she climbed back into her ship. It fired up. Then she was in the air and heading toward Nemesis again. If there wasn't so much dust in the air, Ares could have belly laughed. The woman was awe-inspiring.

His hair tickled his nose for the millionth time. Ares sneezed once from the touch and again from the dust. He needed to get back in his ship and catch up to Eliza before he sneezed a symphony. So, he did. Ares was in the air in seconds, speeding after his partner.

Something told him that she was going to be a little bit quieter during their hunt. A devilish grin appeared on his face.