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The knife breaks.
It's plunged deep into a man's side when it does, leaving her only with the hilt and a jagged ending of black stainless steel.
Her ears are ringing, heartbeat fast as adrenaline runs its course through her veins, there's bodies on bodies along the hallway she's run through. Her radio had broken in this last scuffle, shattered beneath the man's boot with a desperate cry from Rodolfo on her position.
She tosses the hilt aside, listening to it clatter and spin away somewhere against the concrete floor. She's splattered and soaked in blood, hands clenching and releasing as she takes a shaking deep breath. Letting it out in a rough sigh to chill the roaring hot rage settled in her limbs, she pulls a knife from a dead man's holster as a distraction.
She's seeing her name by the time she's made it down the hallway, picking up a pump action along the way. One could assume she was a woman scorned with how she killed without mercy, and one would be somewhat right.
This rogue cartel operation has taken someone who's rightfully hers as hostage.
It's a blood raged haze as she racks a shell and rounds a doorway to panicked voices, the trigger is pulled and the first man's head is splattered across the room. Body dropping brutally to the floor while the other man panics, firing at her sideways but missing the three shots left in his clip. He's scrambling to reload his gun, panic and terror in his eyes as she advances.
One wicked left hook sends him to the floor, her boot stomps firmly onto his spine and the other kicks his pistol across the room. He's cursing and squirming, though it doesn't last long because another shell is racked and he goes still.
"Where is he. "
Her question seems to catch the man off guard, hands splaying wide against tile floor and breath becoming quick.
"The man you took. Where. Is. He. "
The barrel presses taught against his jaw now, and he sobs out an answer. Something about the wine cellar of the building, but that she won't make it through.
She steps off of his back and pulls the trigger. Leaving him with one less leg and to bleed out on the cold tiles, she picks up his pistol on her way out, hellbent on getting Alejandro back.
He's in and out of consciousness upon the door being opened, though a shotgun firing makes his head snap up and being splattered in blood gets his heart racing with tight nit fear. That is until he sees who's caused the mess, a dead man dropping to the floor and his beloved girlfriend standing behind with a shotgun in hand.
He smiles weakly as she enters the room, seeing something shift behind her though, all it takes is the widening of his eyes for her to duck. Shotgun being dropped as a man goes swinging at her, she yanks a knife from a holster on her hip, swinging wide and jumping back as the man throws another punch.
It's a brutal dance he gets to witness, a side to Red he's seldom seen.
The man is killed when they grapple to the floor and she slams the knife into his eye socket, twisting with a snarl and rolling off to a hunched stance in front of him. She looks crazed, mask gone and eyes wild when she looks at him.
Though her gaze softens and it's almost immediately she's coming to hold his face and kiss him, beyond gentle compared to the violence he imagines she's gone through to get to him. She pulls away before long, though lingers to press their foreheads together. He's so tired he smiles, breathing in her faint perfume and petals. The iron of blood isn't as unsettling on her as he'd thought, though when she pulls away he gives a displeased noise.
Watching with half lidded eyes as she leans back and pulls the knife from the man's skull, wiping it before moving to behind him. Beginning to cut through the thick rope he'd rubbed his arms raw with trying to escape, she leans forward and presses her forehead against his back as she does. Trying desperately to keep contact with him, as if she'd lose him again if she didn't.
The rope snaps and he grunts in pain as she pulls them off, coming back in front of him as he begins to fall forward. His knees ache from being held in such a position for so long, though as Red holds his face again he can't think much of it anymore. Leaning into her as she pulls him close, hands grabbing her sides as she mumbles something in her mother tongue.
He doesn't know how long they sit together in that dark cellar, but it's long enough for the others to find them. And Red apparently is still on edge because she whips an arm back and throws the knife at the first person in her peripherals, just barely missing Ghost's skull mask and landing in the frame of the door.
"Blue lass, blue! Fuckin hell Red, easy. "
He barks it from around the doorframe, she sighs heavily, returning to Alejandro who's half conscious at this point, exhausted from both trying to keep awake and the physical beatings he'd taken before she showed up. Rodolfo is the first into the room, medkit in hand and sitting at Alejandro's opposite side.
"Lo único que puede matarlo podría ser usted, ¿verdad, coronel? "
He jokes lightly, beginning to check over the wounds he's gained.
The ones on his arms are long dried with caked blood, though a thin cut along his stomach underneath his shirt is still bleeding. Alejandro winces as Rodolfo cleans over it with an alcohol wipe, quickly placing a gauze pad over it and an adhesive to make it stay.
"I don't know, I think she could easily end me if she wanted. "
He jokes, the roughness of his voice being an indication of what he's gone through. Rodolfo chuckles and shakes his head in amusement, cleaning the blood from another shallow wound over one wrist.
"Ghost and Price are outside, would you like to join them? "
Rudy asks it more as a precaution, seemingly nervous about the fact Red hasn't stopped touching Alejandro for a moment.
She looks at Rodolfo and makes a noise similar to a very angry dog, though she kisses Alejandro's cheek as gently as she can manage before standing. Leaving the two to talk and tend to his wounds as she enters the massacre of the hallway, Ghost is leaning against the doorframe but he makes sure she's seen him before gently patting her shoulder.
Price is further down the hall, talking through his radio to someone as Soap stands close by. Though as the two of them spot her they start moving down the hall, she swallows down any remaining nerves and anger when Price finally gets close enough to scold her.
Though as he hugs her it makes her tense and a noise of confusion squeaks out. She sighs heavily and lets him squeeze her for a bit, though when he pulls back he just looks relieved.
"For the sake of my health don't fuckin do that again lass. "
She snorts as he pats her shoulder, but she nods and looks at the terror she's caused to just this very hall. Soap gently bumps her arm with his fist, and a smile is given. One to distract, and it helps well enough to give a moment of peace.
It's hours later when they've finally made it back to their shared room on base, Alejandro having gotten medical attention and an order of leave. Meanwhile she had debriefed with Price and Laswell, apparently through tearing that compound asunder she killed the sicario running the operation. Giving their operation a giant leap in advantage.
She's exhausted, still blood caked and one edge even as he pulls her to sit on his bed. Her hands shake as she takes a trembling breath, keeping her anger in check with the terror of losing him had gone on one moment too long.
"Esta bien mi amor… You can breathe, I promise. "
His hand slides up her back and for a moment Red feels the tension in her shoulders tighten, his hand crests up the back of her neck, she feels the bandaging over his palm where rope had dug deep. Her breath hitches and he takes it as a bad thing, lifting his hand quickly.
"Lo siento mi Rojo, can I do anything? "
His voice lowers to be quiet, head tilting as she looks to him. Silently she gets up, shaking her head to focus.
"Stay put? "
Her own voice is nearly quieter than the silence of the room, but he understands well enough what she wants and gives a simple nod, crossing one leg over the other leaning back on his hands to wait for her.
She moves off to the rooms bathroom, keeping the door cracked open as she turns the lights on to a low medium. Most of her gear has been discarded and placed in its respective container for later use, all that remains are the multiple harnesses, her gloves and the blood soaked clothing beneath the harnesses.
Carefully she begins undoing the clips and looping hooks to get her chest harness off, hands shaking as some of the more vivid ends of her brutality begin to seep in. Gored open bodies from a stainless steel blade, broken bones and jaws from bare hands. Twisted necks and limbs, cracking ribs.
The harness drops to the floor and the noise brings her out of the episode, staring at her own bloodied face and singular bloodshot eye. She looks rough thats for sure, blood caked along her cheekbone on one side and some having dripped down from the cut in her brow. Taking a slow breath she turns to water to the sink on, letting it run for a moment to get warm.
She winces upon slipping the straps of her gloves open, peeling them off of her busted open knuckles. Blood drips down her fingers when she sets them aside, it takes a second to wash them clean. Though thankfully there's gauze and wrapping in the medicine cabinet above the sink, she begins carefully wrapping them after the blood has finally stopped.
She plucks a clean rag from the countertop, getting it wet and beginning to clean her face of the blood. Hands trembling worse than she likes, and making it a hell of a task.
It becomes too much.
Her shirt is pulled off in a panic along with the tanktop beneath. Its too constricting and the clothing is thrown somewhere, she can't look at her own face anymore. Can't look at herself.
The light is flicked off and she vacates the bathroom quickly, breathing hard and hands clenched so tight the pain in her knuckles has suddenly become searing. Alejandro stands up when she looks at him, his hands hover at her arms, asking for permission.
Upon her nodding he gently grazes his fingers up from her elbows, slowly moving to her outer shoulders and eventually he eases her into an embrace. Letting his lover grab ahold of him, shirt bundling in her fists as a ragged noise leaves her throat. Alejandro knows all too well what's going on, body disphoria was a fickle thing. But he knew his Red. And she knew him.
"You want to lay down? "
He asks quietly, pressing his lips to her ear gently. It earns him a shaking breath, one she sighs out before nodding against his shoulder. He moves backwards to the bed, flicking the lights off as he goes. When he sits down she clambers with him, until they've laid down together. Legs tangling and Red smelling like iron, a shower would be in order later, but for now he knows that what she needs is to just be held by him.
"What do you need mi amor? "
He doesn't expect an answer, he doesn't expect her to push him onto his back and to sit into his lap.
He certainly doesn't expect when she pulls his shirt up so it bunches at his chin, and her fingers go running over his chest and stomach. Slow and steady, avoiding his wrapped wound and the bruises she had somehow memorized in the medbay. But her hands grab his own, and they're placed on her own muscled stomach and sides.
"Ground me. "
His hands are firm but gentle upon being told what to do, making her feel as he trails them along her torso and up. Warmth blooming where he touches, one palm resting over her sternum while the other makes itself home on the side of her neck.
"Talk to me Red? "
She leans into his palm when he reaches up to hold her cheek, thumb reaching to gently brush over her eyebrow. She gives a slow sigh and kisses at his wrist, she shifts in the dark to lay down against him. One hand resting over his heart. He pulls his shirt off fully, tossing it aside in the dark as he tucks one arm under his head.
Watching her in the darkness, he can't see her expression but he knows she's distraught just from her lips pressing against his shoulder.
"I lost myself in the violence. "
She murmurs it against his skin, breath hot but lips gentle as she kisses over a scar. Her free hand slips down to hold his own where it rests on his stomach, her trembling fingers lace his and for a moment Alejandro feels helpless in trying to console her.
"I thought I lost you. "
Her voice cracks, her hand over his heart moves up to cup his cheek. Alejandro takes the incentive to lean down and kiss her forehead, turning onto his side to keep kissing her face.
"But I'm here no? Fuck, you tore through a cartel for me. I think that's enough reassurance you'll have me for a while mi amor. "
He tilts her chin up gently, resting a hand on her hip and thumbing gentle circles. She cups his face now, pulling him to kiss her properly. It's full of need, her tongue dipping in to taste him but there's no hurry, she wants to explore every inch of him again. Memorize it so she'll never forget, Alejandro groans into the kiss as she slips her hands down to his chest, tracing the lines of his pecs and collarbone.
He breaks the kiss with a heavy breath, moving in to lightly kiss her neck and throat. Listening to her soft hum of approval as he kisses over her pulse point, his hand at her hip moves up her side and to rest over her ribs. Feeling her breaths deepen as she starts falling asleep, his lips trail up her throat and soon her chin. His other arm tucks beneath his head as she leans into him, nearly chest to chest she kisses his collarbone before tucking her head up beneath his chin.
"I love you Red. "
She smiles into his skin, arms tucking close between them.
"A miluji tě víc než život sám~ "
Her voice is already full of sleep, but steeping in adoration for him. Alejandro smiles and closes his eyes to rest with her, his contentness melding with her own.