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“Stay together and stay alive. Remember, we’re just here to gain more intel” Harbor warned stepping off the helicopter and onto the drop site first, “I’m looking at you two." He directed his words toward you and Gekko.
The rest of you followed Harbor off the aircraft, with your weapons in hand. Reyna was the first to lead the way as she scooped out the surrounding area.
“Come on coach, you got the best crew in the house!” Gekko winked at you, nudging your shoulder with a giant grin.
You smiled in return, rolling your eyes at his antics, “He does have a point, somos los mejores.(1)” You agreed, shrugging your shoulders.
“Orale!(2) That's what I’m talking about.” Gekko cheered, giving you a fist bump.
Reyna rolled her eyes at the two of you, “We’ll round up again back here later, on my signal.” She declared, adjusting her gun with a stern look, “comprenden?(3)”
“Claro, Reyna.(4)”
“You got it, Jefa.(5)”
The four of you wished each other luck as you split into groups of two to cover more ground. You and Gekko were to explore ‘Site B’ while Reyna and Harbor would take care of ‘Site A’. The Valorant Protocol was investigating a number of locations today in an attempt to figure out where these mysterious shipments of Radianite were going to and from. According to a mysterious tip, there were at least two locations that had active shipments moving in and out, but without a precise location, all active agents were split up to investigate the different suspected areas. It was a 50/50 shot that you would actually be the group to find the correct place.
___
You and Gekko were perfectly synched up as you made your way towards Site B. You took the right end while he watched your left, the two of you were constantly focused on watching the other’s back. You both had grown to have an immense amount of trust in one another, having joined the Valorant Protocol at around the same time and being trained together frequently, it was inevitable that you would have formed a strong bond.
When you weren’t training for the next mission, you two were constantly hanging out. If you wanted something to eat, suddenly it turned into a food run for two, or well six of you, if you counted his familiars. Whenever Gekko’s hair was in need of a touch up, you were the first one he called. And when either of you had nightmares due to your line of work, the two of you could always be found in either of your bedrooms, soothing the other till you fell asleep in each other's arms.
The two of you were practically conjoined at the hip and all of the other agents knew it too. Whenever they needed one of you, there was a guarantee that they would find the other as well, to them it was only a matter of time before you two would make it official.
The two of you weren’t dumb either, you both had caught on to the longing looks you shared, early on. All the times you two had held hands under the table during team outings, rubbing each other's knuckles gently. All the subtle touches that sent shivers down your spine.
But nothing was ever made official. You never outright said that you had feelings for the Hispanic man, you never told him how the way he laughed would send your heart into failure. And neither did he. But maybe that was enough for you two, just knowing you could always count on the other to be there.
The two of you made it to the surrounding area of Site B with no issues. You two had a perfect aerial view of the site and immediately spotted what you had been instructed to find. You both hid behind some crates while you made contact with the rest of your group.
“We got eye’s on the target.” You stated over comms, while Gekko peeked around from where you two were hiding to get another look.
“Looks empty from up here,” Gekko imputed his own observations.
“Great, Site A was a bust.” Harbor replied gruffly, “Proceed with caution until we can make our way there.”
“You got it coach!” Gekko stood from where you two had been crouching, offering you a hand up which you gladly took, “You heard em’, vamanos.(6)”
___
You both made it down to the entrance of Site B and the silence was killing you. It felt awfully too quiet for an area that was transporting something so important, it was too good to be true.
“Dizzy’s up top.” Gekko called out, sending in the blue critter to confirm if it was safe for the two of you to enter.
With no gun fire and no gurgles of danger from the creature, Gekko determined that it was clear, but your gut was screaming otherwise. Just as Gekko was about to take the lead in entering the area behind Dizzy but you pulled him back by the end of his sweater vest.
He paused in his steps, looking back at you, “Gekko…I don’t feel too good about this.” You expressed your concerns, “Maybe we should fall back for now and wait for the others.”
He turned and took your hand from where it previously held onto his clothing, rubbing gentle circles on the back of your palm, “Estamos bien,(7) Dizzy confirmed it’s clear.” He reassured you.
Although you were still unsure despite his reassurance, you decided to push your feelings behind you. Having faith in the confidence he held with his words, you hesitantly agreed, letting go of his hand as you ready your weapon.
You entered B Site behind Gekko and kept guard as he retrieved Dizzy from where she spun out. Once she was settled, the two of you continued to ensure the area was clear.
You made your way back to meet up with Gekko in the center of the shipment center once you had made sure your area was clear…or so you thought.
Your ears rang harshly making you disoriented, your body flung forward and roughly onto the ground without your approval. It all happened too fast and your mind was unable to focus on the area surrounding you and the warmth you felt flare up in your lower abdomen and in your calf.
The noise felt deafened in your ears but you could still faintly hear your name being called out multiple times, followed by the sound of more gunshots firing above you. Finally, the noise ceased and you felt as though you could finally let your heavy eyelids rest for a bit.
One minute you were laying face-side down, the next, you were flipped onto your back carefully. Your eyes squinted in order to block out the harsh rays of the sun beating down on you until a buzzed, bright neon green head took its place.
“Shit, shit!” Gekko exclaimed, looking down at your body that held multiple gun wounds. He quickly pulled his sweater over his head and turned it inside out. He cut off a piece and instructed Wingman to apply pressure on the wound on your calf, before applying pressure against your abdomen to keep the blood from gushing out from your wound.
“Apuranse!(8) [Name]’s down.” Gekko called out with urgency, a series of curses flooding comms immediately.
Gekko had always known what he was getting himself into when he first joined the Valorant Protocol; he knew the risks that came with his job. But not like this, never like this, never you. He never thought he’d grow to care for someone as much as he did you, but as he kneeled here, keeping his hands over your body with steady pressure. As the blood seeped through his sweater slowly, grazing the palms of his hands, dying them a deep crimson.
He could only think of all the things he should’ve said earlier. All the times that he held you in his arms and didn’t come right out and shower you in the pet names he wished he had. All the moments you two had come inches away from sealing your first kiss that always managed to get interrupted.
Maybe if he hadn’t insisted and listened to your gut feeling then maybe you two wouldn’t be in the position you were in. If he had just-
“Is it that bad?” You choked out, interrupting his thought process, swallowing the clot of blood that you could feel coming up from behind your throat. You already knew the answer to your question, but the silence between you two and the way his face was so stern and concerned, it was too much for you. It wasn’t a look that suited him.
Gekko looked back at your face, trying to keep a smile, “Claro que no, carino(9) He reassured, the shakiness in his voice betraying him, “It’s nothing Sage can’t fix, but I need you to keep your eyes open for me, okay?”
“Carino, huh? At least take me out to dinner first.” You joked, taking note of his slip up, trying to ease the tension before a small coughing fit ensued from you,”Mierda.”(10)
“Tell you what, you stay alive, and the minute you’ve healed up I’ll take you out on a proper date. I’ll buy you the flowers you deserve and take you out to that sushi place you love.” He promised you, “No more sneaking around with this, yeah? I want everyone to know que eres mio.”(11)
“I was thinking some Mierdonalds(12) and a movie, but I think I like your idea better.” You laughed, reaching up to cup his face and wipe the tears that had formed along the corners of his eyes.
Using what little strength you had, you pulled Gekko down for a chaste kiss. Pulling away, he kept his forehead against your own, while still maintaining a hand to your wound, “Te quiero muchisimo.”(13) He confessed.
Yo también te quiero.(14)