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#agents
cautionszz · 2 days
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its like whatever. but with swag
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mollusc-era · 6 months
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cannot wait for this dynamic
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splxtduxlies · 2 years
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a little bit of my agents, while im going through my splatoon phase again lol
feel free to send asks for headcanons or dont im gonna give em to ya anyway 🤪
(click for better res)
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zephyrfuse · 10 months
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Woa... Agent 3 be upon ye
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marvelwitchergilmore · 3 months
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A Moment Of Everything
Summary: Peter Parker x Fe!Reader -> You and Peter have never gotten along, but can two nights in Florence change things for good?
Disclaimer: Swearing, fluff, angst. Mentions of blood and wounds. I was watching The Proposal last night and got inspired. Enemies to Lovers. See this for whichever Spider-Man you wish. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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You knew things had to change eventually. 
Yourself and Peter couldn’t go your whole lives hating one another. 
You just didn’t expect it to change quite so much. 
It had all started one night when you were on a mission with each other. 
Two days in Florence, Italy. You were both sent to monitor a suspect. And, like usual, Peter was off with you. He didn’t seem too happy about having to share a bed at the hotel. And, even though he didn’t particularly like talking to you, he would still do it. Only, that night, he didn’t. 
When he didn’t have to talk to you, he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t even look at you. 
So, the night before you were expected to fly back home, you called him out on it. 
He didn’t listen to you. He simply walked away from you. He followed the guy and you had to go with his plan. Whatever his plan was, you had to guess. 
Only, the suspect got away. 
“We’ll find him again.”
Peter just grunted. 
“Peter.”
Nothing. 
“Peter!”
Again, nothing.
“Jesus Fucking Christ! Peter!” He finally slowed down and looked at you. “What the hell is your fucking problem?! I get you don’t like me, but we’re meant to be together in this!”
“We are together in this.”
You couldn’t help but scoff. “Bull-shit. You have done nothing but ignore me this entire trip. If you have a problem with me, you can just say it. Where are you going now? Or am I not allowed to know that either.”
“Back to the hotel. Not like you’d tell me.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
You tried running to catch up with him. 
“Nothing.”
“No, go ahead. Tell me.”
Soon enough you both made it back to the hotel and inside the room before the conversation continued. 
“Tell me, Peter. I can take it.”
“No, you can’t.”
“You don’t know me-”
“You’re right! I don’t!” Peter turned around and looked at you, forcing you to stop in your tracks. 
“I don’t know you! I don’t know anything about you! Because you don’t share anything.”
“Well, excuse me for wanting to keep my life a little private.”
“A little?!” Peter raised his eyebrows and scoffed. “A little private is not telling your co-workers where you're going when you say you’re going on holiday. A little private is not showing them a thousand pictures of your new puppy. Your life is anything but a little private.”
Clearly, he had more to say so you waited. And you didn’t have to wait long. 
Sighing, Peter rubbed his forehead for a moment before looking back at you. 
“I have known you for almost ten years and you have told me less than three things about yourself. And yet, an hour before we leave to come here, Hank from the Biology lab does…what? Flirts with you for five minutes, tells you his coffee order and you’re practically marrying the guy!”
“Peter, that’s none- Is this what has been bothering you since we left? This?! Just because I decided to talk to a guy and tell him about my day…why does it bother you so much that I don’t talk about myself?”
“Because I am meant to be your teammate. You have known me for almost ten years and never once have I hid anything from you. We are meant to trust one another. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like me or if I didn’t like you, what matters is that you trust me, and that I trust you. This partnership is meant to go both ways.”
You didn’t know what to say. You just kept looking at Peter. It looked like the world had been lifted off his shoulders whilst he also started beating himself up over what he just said. His chest was heaving and for a moment, you thought he was gonna walk towards you but instead, he took a step back. 
“I’m going for a shower.”
When the door closed behind him, it took you a moment to gather yourself. 
You couldn’t deny that he had a point. Maybe you hadn’t told him as much as you could have done, especially for being teammates for almost a full decade. But it wasn’t like he didn’t have his faults in it, too. 
Maybe instead of ignoring you and only talking to you when he needed to, you might have warmed to him more rather than seen him as a stand-offish person who you would trust to save your life, but wouldn’t trust to put it on the edge first. 
After twenty minutes, Peter emerged from the bathroom, freshly washed, clothed and ready for bed. He put away his dirty clothes and put his wash bag back in his bag before climbing under the covers that lay at the bottom of the bed. 
He hadn’t said anything when you both arrived at the hotel late at night. Just took some sheets out of the cupboard and put them on the floor. When you entered the room, you said he was being ridiculous.
He just said the bed was too soft for him and that he wouldn’t sleep. 
After an hour of back and forth over you telling him just to get into the bed, since it was big enough for a family of five, never mind two, he still decided to stay on the floor. 
As you lay in bed, listening to the distant noises of the city, you tossed and turned before settling on your back. But you still couldn’t sleep. 
Then you heard Peter. 
He was tossing and turning, too. 
Eventually, you heard him sigh in annoyance of sleep not taking over him. 
So, wrestling with your own mind, you spoke up. 
“I like Greek Mythology.”
A few seconds passed and then; “What?”
You faltered for a moment before speaking up again. 
“I-I like Greek Mythology. I always have.” you said before explaining, taking your time. “When I was five, my grandmother gave me some of her old books. In the pile was a kids illustrated version of Greek Gods and Goddesses. I was obsessed. And I mean, obsessed.” 
You laughed a little as you explained your obsession with Greek Mythology to him. Meanwhile, from the floor and out of sight from you, he smiled. He couldn’t even think of when he’d heard a smile in your voice. Never mind a laugh. 
It was once of the sweetest sounds he’d ever heard. 
“For three halloween’s in a row, I went as a different Goddess.”
You fell silent for a moment in the memory before you started to speak again. 
“I hate coffee. I try it once every year and it’s always the same. Absolutely disgusting.” you chuckled a little. “I spent every summer away from home at Camp where I ran a book club. I watch Rom-Coms when I’m sad because they make me feel better. My favourite flowers are blue tulips. I don’t watch thrillers because they remind me too much of work. And, I haven’t told anyone this much…ever.”
Only as you finished did you realise how much you had told him. And you felt a pang of anxiety in the pit of your stomach as Peter remained silent. 
“Are you still there?”
Peter swallowed thickly and nodded his head, despite the fact you couldn’t see him. “Y-yeah. I’m here. Just…processing.”
“Okay.”
That conversation had been just over eight months before you got a knock at your apartment window one evening. 
You had taken a couple weeks off work since you hadn’t taken any vacation days…ever. Barton had practically banned you from the building for two weeks. 
The rain had been pouring over the city and, with all your work finished, you had rushed out and got some supplies before sitting in front of your TV, watching one of the many rom-coms your DVD collection provided before pulling a few books from your shelves and reading through them. 
At some point, you had fallen asleep, still fully dressed, under your blankets, listening to the quiet silence of your apartment as the rain hit the windows outside. 
Only, rather than continuing to sleep throughout the night, you heard a continuous tapping. 
So, leaning up with tired eyes, you looked around. The loose braid you had stuck your hair in had fallen out, your bobble being lost between the cushions somewhere.
The apartment was shrouded in darkness, save for the street lights outside still lighting small sections of your apartment.
Along came more tapping until finally you turned towards the sash window that lay by the fire escape. 
You furrowed your eyebrows as you saw him through tired eyes. 
Making your way over, you pushed the window open and Peter made his way inside. 
“Sorry for waking you.”
You just grumbled and closed the window to stop the rain from flying in, though it didn’t stop the small puddle made by Peter who was practically soaked to the bone from the rain. 
“Ah, so this is who I lost you to.” Peter said with a slight smirk as he spotted one of your Mythology books. 
“Barton said I was banished from HQ until my vacation days were finished. What are you doing here at this time of night? What even is the time?”
“I didn’t know where to go, and you’re the only one who I trust to do the job well.”
“What job?”
Finally looking at Peter, you saw it. 
His body, and his clothes, were splattered with blood. You couldn’t tell how much of it was his and how much of it could be somebody else's. 
“You didn’t kill anyone did you?”
“No.” Peter answered. “They’re alright, just at the police station getting booked.”
You sighed as you took in even more of his wounds. “Alright. Meet me in the bathroom in two minutes. Give me your jacket.”
Peter removed it and you took it from him, including his grey hoodie. 
“Bathroom?”
“Down the hall and to the right.”
Peter nodded and walked down whilst you headed into the kitchen and shoved his jackets into the washing machine and pressed start. Then, from the top cupboard, you pulled down your first-aid kit that contained everything from princess plasters, from when you had been looking after your neighbour's kid for two days, to a stitching kit.
Twenty minutes later, you had a basin full of warm, blood stained water, a once-clean face cloth covered in stains of blood and a grown Avenger sat on the edge of your bathtub, wincing every now and again and you cleaned him up. 
“Remind me again why you came to me?”
You turned Peter’s head to face over your right shoulder as you cleaned a graze and cut just above his eyebrow. 
“Because I trust you. And I didn’t feel like getting another lecture from Laura.”
“Ah,” you nodded and Peter laughed a little. 
Then he hissed. 
“Sorry, I'm almost finished with this one.”
“It’s okay.” Peter flicked his gaze to you a couple of times. “T-thank you for doing this.”
“What else would I have done? Kicked you back out of the window?”
“You could have done it. I did wake you up. Clearly I didn't learn my lesson from the first time.”
You chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I did nearly beat you up.”
What Peter meant was just over two months ago. You had both become friends of sorts. But, you had fallen asleep at your lab desk one night and Peter came in to wake you up and you nearly cursed him out so much that you even had him convinced he was an intruder trying to break into your home. 
“But, if you hadn’t come to me, I probably would have cursed you out when I found out, anyway.”
“Found out?”
“You can’t hide anything from me, Peter. I know everything,” you joked. 
“But do you?”
Peter’s question slipped from his tongue before he could stop himself, but you didn’t know what to do. So, your eyes turned from his and you tried your best to remain calm until you saw a large spot of blood coming through his black t-shirt. 
You tried your best to get to the wound that was beneath it without him removing his shirt, but you both knew it was no use. 
So, awkwardly asking him, he stood and you looked to him only to find him looking back. 
Slowly, he removed his shirt, trying his best not to stain the rest of his body from the blood you had just cleaned away and for a moment, you were met with his body in front of you. 
Most of the blood was coming from that one wound but the top of his arms now showed a little bruising, as well as his torso, though it was more healed than you thought it would have been. 
Finding yourself staring for a little too long, you forced your gaze back to his face where he’d removed the shirt from over his head and lowered himself back down onto the edge of the tub, opening up his legs for you to stand between them once more. 
Though, it was in that moment that you realised how close you had been standing to him this entire time. 
“Th-This might sting a little.”
Peter nodded and you watched as he clenched his jaw and tried to suppress the grunt that tried to escape from him as you cleaned out the wound. 
“You might need some stitches.” you mentioned. “I can do them here, though they might not be Laura standard.”
“I think I’ll survive.”
You nodded and tried your best to ignore the fact that Peter was looking at you as you looked for your stitching kit and began working. 
In your peripheral vision, you could see some of his bruises already starting to heal, though some might take more than a couple hours.
Even with his adapted DNA. 
“If you want, you can stay here for the night. I have a spare set of pyjamas if you need them.”
“You sure they’ll be my size?”
You laughed a little. “My, uh, my neighbour gave them to me. She bought a set for her husband but when they came they were too big for him. She told me to keep them in case I ever had someone…stay the night. They might be too big for you, too but they have a drawstring so…”
“Okay.”
You looked at him for a split second and then looked back to his wound with a small nod. 
Soon enough you finished and stepped back to grab the face cloth before dipping it into a fresh basin of warm water to clean off the rest of his wounds that would heal soon enough. 
“Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
As you looked at Peter when he stood, there was a moment of…everything. 
Neither of you were moving, yet his eyes and your own spoke a thousand unspoken words between their gazes. 
Without thinking, Peter lifted his hand to meet your own, allowing you to place the cloth down before he pulled you a little closer. 
Your name left his lips in a small whisper, a plea, a wish of permission.
You felt yourself stand a little taller as his other hand came to your face, brushing the loose hair from your face, behind your ear. 
His eyes continued to flick from your eyes to your lips, as yours did the same with him. 
There was time for you to stop. For you to say no. And if you did, he would have stepped away and, most likely, would have apologised and left. 
But you didn’t want that. 
Each tantalising moment that passed, you wished for time to hurry up. For his lips to finally meet yours. 
And once they did, there was no turning back. 
At first it was soft, until you both became hungry for more. 
Leaning in, your hands came to his neck to pull him closer to you. 
Eventually, the kiss broke apart for a moment, your heads resting together, your eyes partly closed. 
“Was that-”
“Just shut up and kiss me again.”
Peter chuckled a little before feeling your lips connect to his, allowing his hands to pull your body flush against his.
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inkopolis-connection · 6 months
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COMIC: Meeting the Pearl drone 💗
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magician-hero · 1 year
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low effort agent idol swap
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trapezequeen · 8 months
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“Stop talking to Jeff!”
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evilgodfuckers · 6 months
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On this earth SATAN does work through Human Agents and I am ONE of His agents. I guide those who seek SATAN. I spread the Truth about SATAN. I tell those who listen just how pleasurable SIN and EVIL can be. I teach them that there is NOTHING to fear about going to HELL for all eternity. I show them that the Christian God is not the ONE TRUE God they should be worshiping and so much more that I do for SATAN. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ASK ME THEM. HAIL SATAN!!! FUCK Jesus!!!
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septemberlikestea · 6 days
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dang girl you got the whole squad uncomfortable.
deceive inc turned 1 year old yesterday and i did a meme redraw of all the agents :o)
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this is who theyre looking at. yu-mis haircut sucks so bad.
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neeino · 8 months
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what do they say about gay ppl?
commissions info
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cautionszz · 2 days
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AGENTS!! as always. not to scale
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propaganda:
✅️ "bong bong replaced my Manager and has made work easier by taking all the fun abnormalities (do not question the 3 apocalypse birds or else you’ll be sent to deal with them)"
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splxtduxlies · 2 years
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tryna figure out how i wanna draw these kiddos again
after like. 4 years give or take lol
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zephyrfuse · 2 years
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spent all that time waiting around for the fest just to be indecisive on a potential agent design
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marvelwitchergilmore · 10 months
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To Shitty Days and Shitty Families
Summary: Javier Peña x Fe!Reader - Your parents come to Columbia to visit you at work only they seem to be more interested in your personal life than they do your work. 
Disclaimer: Shitty families, patriarchy I suppose. Swearing, angst, ideology that women are only fit for marriage- reader argues against this point. Reader stands up for herself, Javi talks with her folks when she leaves. 
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You had been dreading it all day since first listening to your answering machine that morning. And everyone could see it in you. Steve had taken one look at you as he stood outside the complex kissing goodbye to Connie and knew something was wrong. 
“You look like someone just shot you.” Connie added. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. I-I’ll see you at work.”
By the time you pulled up to work, you spent half of the day bouncing your leg under the desk as you tried your best to fill out the usual paperwork and the only time you said what was going on, out loud, was when you were stood on the steps of the Embassy with Peña as he smoked his cigarettes. Despite you having a habit of removing them from him, he still continued to smoke. 
“Who are you looking for? You look like Steve when he goes duck hunting.”
“My parents are coming.”
“To the Embassy.”
“The Embassy, Columbia. Here. Wherever.”
“And you’re worried because…”
“Because they haven’t talked to me in almost three years and now are coming to Columbia.”
“That’s nice.”
“No. No it’s not.”
Peña nodded. “Okay.”
“If you see a cab pull up, shout for me, okay?”
“Sure.” Peña could see the worry in your eyes as you searched the parking lot once more before turning around and heading back inside. 
Only, Peña wasn’t outside when they turned up. So, instead, they walked inside, found your desk and stood there, examining the mess and tutting. 
“She could never keep anything tidy. Always messy. Always the family mess.”
“Can I help you?” Steve asked as he approached. 
Somehow, from the time it took you walking from the evidence room after hearing the familiar click of heels to reaching your desk, your mother had already seemed to have painted herself a saint to Murphy and Peña. 
“Where is she anyway? You know, she could never keep time in high school, either. Always marked late.”
Both Peña and Murphy highly doubted that since you were always early - to everything. Hell, you’d get into work an hour earlier than them. But, they decided not to question your mother who already seemed distracted in scanning your entire body with her eyes making you suddenly aware of your skin and one of the many reasons why you were glad you left the states. 
Your mother awkwardly moved in to hug you, making the whole thing a clear spectacle for onlookers. “You’ve gotten thicker, dear.”
“Mom.”
“Oh, just a jest, dear. Just a jest.” your mother laughed. “I’ve just met your bosses.”
“They’re not my bosses, mom. They’re my partners.”
“Oh.” That seemed to be the first shock to your mom. “Well, they’re handsome all the same and since you all seem to be friends, I’ve invited them to dinner with us tonight. And you’ll be bringing your wife, no doubt Agent Murphy?”
Steve nodded, though the look from you made him question if he should have said yes. 
“Wouldn’t miss meeting your parents for the world, Agent.” Steve smiled at you. 
“I’ve left you a note on your desk on where to meet us. If you can find it amongst this mess. And 7 o’clock sharp, dear. I know what you’re like for time keeping. It was nice to meet you boys. See you all soon.”
You wanted the ground to swallow you whole and take you to Hell now.
Far too soon for your liking, 7 o’clock rolled around. 
Murphy and Connie were already there with your parents, sat in the very back of the restaurant, glasses of wine just poured. Peña must have only just arrived as he was still standing and seemed a little out of breath as he made his way round, kissing your mother’s cheek, Connie’s and shaking your father’s hand whilst he shook Steve’s shoulder. 
“Late again, I see.” your mother said as you finally reached the table. 
“By two minutes, mom. I had to find parking.”
“Never mind, you’re here now, finally.” Your mom seemed to stress the word ‘finally’ before turning to Steve and Connie. “Shall we order? I know it takes my daughter a while to choose what she wants. She’s always been like that with her life.”
You tried your best to keep your breathing steady. “Mom.”
“What?” your mother laughed. “Oh, I’m just joking, honey. You know that.”
You looked to your napkin covered plate, trying to subtly take in deep breaths. “You okay?” 
You looked to your left as leaned into Peña who, for the first time in a while, seemed…concerned. You faked a smile as best as you could. “I’m fine.”
“So, Peña.”
“Javi, please.”
“Javi.” your mother smiled. “You’re working with Steve to catch Escobar? Oh, that must be so dangerous. But, I’m sure someone like yourself is able to handle it.”
“He works with me, too, mom.” you pointed out only, she seemed to ignore that. 
Javi looked at you for a quick moment before turning back to your mother. “It’s dangerous for anyone being an American in Columbia.”
From across the table, Connie shot you a look which, in total honesty, you didn’t fully know if you returned it. All you wanted to do was get over this meal and go home. 
“I am famished.” Connie announced. “What are we all eating?” she scanned her eyes over the menu and you tried your best to thank her telepathically across the table. 
“Well, I’m sure my daughter is still deciding.”
“Actually, I know what I want, mom.”
“Oh, well…that’s a change.”
By the time the waiter came around and took your order, your mother trying to order and loudly shouting Spanish in a very clear American accent, you were ready to leave. 
You gave your order, your voice at a normal decibel, your Spanish rolling off the tongue, your mother looked to you slowly. “No need to show off, dear.”
“I wasn’t-”
“Darling, just because your mother doesn’t have the best Spanish, doesn’t mean you should make her look stupid.”
“What? I-”
Before you could even think about finishing your sentence, your mother turned to Connie. “Constance, dear.”
“Please, call me Connie.”
“Of course, honey.” your mother smiled. “Tell me, what is married life like? I remember when I married my dear, dear husband. Oh, I was so happy.”
Your mother continued to ramble about her wedding day - a story you had heard every day of your life before you left to join the DEA in Columbia. Meanwhile, you took a large gulp of your wine trying to convince yourself it was whiskey from Peña’s desk drawer and instead of being sat in a candle-lit restaurant, you were back at your desk, drowning in work files all the while the alcohol burned your throat. 
“I think I’m gonna be sick,” you whispered under your breath and in return you felt Peña’s hand lay itself on your thigh. 
“Just give me a signal and I’ll get us all out of here. I think Steve is about to throw himself out of the door.”
“I wouldn’t blame him.”
Peña smiled at you before turning back to the rest of the table where you found your mother still talking. 
“Oh, and when my Rosie got married? Oh, that was the happiest day of my life!”
“Thanks, mom.”
“Oh, dear, you know what I mean.”
“It’s not kind to poke fun at your mother, darling.” your father added. 
“But it was. It was the happiest day of my life seeing my darling daughter get married and have a good, strapping man on her arm.”
“There’s more to life than just getting married, mom.” This has been your argument your entire life. Your mother always wanted you to get married and the day you said you were leaving for Columbia instead of announcing your engagement to your now ex-boyfriend…that was a long day. 
“Don’t argue with your mother, darling.”
You took another deep breath and another gulp of wine. 
“Don’t drink too much, dear. We wouldn’t want you to embarrass the family anymore.”
It was still your first glass. And it, somehow, miraculously, remained half full. 
“I’m sorry?”
“Oh, look, here comes the food.” Connie announced as the waiter approached. 
Thankfully, this deterred the conversation for fifteen minutes whilst the waiter handed the correct dishes to each person. Your mother thanked them rather loudly once more. 
“Mom, they’re not deaf. You don’t have to yell.”
Your father called your name. “Don’t be rude to your mother.” he scolded. 
“Oh, no, dear. Don’t worry. She’s just on one tonight.” your mother replied before sitting back down and looking at your plate in disgust. “Are you really going to eat all of that?”
It was a normal sized bowl with chicken soup and bread. Except, the way your mother spoke to you made it sound as if the bowl was a sharing size and was filled with nothing but crap. 
“You know, I could have ordered for you.”
“I don’t want salad, mother.”
“Well, forgive me for trying to look out for the well-being of my child.”
“Why don’t you just focus on yourself and Rosie and I’ll be completely fine.”
It was now that your mother looked to Connie, Steve and Javi. “I am so sorry about her. She gets like this sometimes. I told her, if she married the man she had, she wouldn’t be this uptight and worried.”
“I didn’t want to marry Daniel, mom. You know that.”
“I understand you like to rebel against me and make me out as the bad guy, y/n. But, one day, you will realise I’m just doing what is best for you.”
“Best for me or best for you, mom?”
“Now, what exactly are you excusing me for, dear?”
“Darling, don’t pick a fight here. I understand you like to make a scene but-”
“Make a scene?”
“She was always dramatic as a kid,” your mother explained to the rest of the table. 
“Mom, please don’t talk about me as if I’m not here.”
“See,” your mother tried to point out. “Even at Rosie’s wedding, she tried to stop it.”
“Because she wasn’t sure if she wanted to get married!” you raised your voice a little. 
“But she did! And now she had two beautiful little children and a wonderful home and a caring husband. Don’t shout at me just because you wanted her life. Because you could have had it.”
“You think I want her life? Sat at home looking after two children whilst her husband flies from state to state and barely knows his own children?”
“Maybe we should-” Connie went to stand but your mother put her hand out to her. 
“No, dear, please, sit down.” your mother smiled. “She’s just annoyed that her life isn’t how she thought it would be.”
“I didn’t want to marry him, mom.” you repeated. “Can you hear me?”
“Just eat your soup, dear.” your mother scolded. “There is no need to embarrass me any further.”
“Your mother is right, darling. Why don’t you eat your soup? If you're not happy with it, your mother will happily order you a salad.”
“I said I didn’t want a salad.”
“Remember dear, a moment on the lips, forever on the hips.” one of your mother’s favourite quotes. “And from here I can already see some of the fat building. You know you’ll never get a husband looking like that or doing what you do.”
“I don’t want a husband!” you yelled. “I didn’t want to marry Danny or stay in America. You! You wanted me married off so you could brag to your friends that your daughters got married before Carrie’s. You’d rather have me marry someone I never loved, someone who would rather sleep with every woman on legs in the whole fucking city, including the darling daughters of your friends, than have me join the police academy and come to Columbia.”
“Dear, lower your voice. People are staring!” your mother scolded through gritted teeth. 
“I did something with my life, mom.” you pointed out. “Any parent would be proud if they’re kid was happy. But no, not you. You’d only be happy if I lived by your rules and followed your footsteps to a life of complete fucking boredom.”
“You should watch your mouth, young lady.” your mother warned. “No one wants a woman who has a mouth like you.”
All you could do was let out a laugh whilst holding back your anger as best as you could. “You know what, mom. I-I can’t do this. Just…just go home. Tell Rosie I’m alive or tell her nothing. I wouldn’t want to be an embarrassment to you anymore than I already have. Sorry, guys.”
You apologised quickly to your teammates before you threw your napkin onto the table and grabbed your jacket. You laid a couple bills on the table before walking away. The waiter must have watched the whole thing because, as you made your way to the exit, he gave you a bittersweet smile. 
“I’ll wrap your food up and have Popsy send it over.”
“That’s alright,” you replied. “I’m not hungry anymore.”
With that, you left the restaurant and headed to your car before driving away.  Meanwhile, back at the table, Steve, Connie and Javi all sat in shock. You never revealed much about your family but whatever they had just witnessed was the last thing they thought they’d ever expect. Even as it happened, none of them could comprehend it. 
“On that note, we’re going to take off.” Steve announced standing up before asking the waiter if they could have the rest of their food packed to-go. However, Javi remained seated. Connie leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before Steve shook his hand and they both left with the brown bag in their hand. 
“I’m-”
“You should be proud of her, you know.” Javi said before confirming your name so they knew 100% completely who he was talking about. “Before she came down here, we weren’t really getting anywhere. But within days of her arrival, she had most of that place in order. We caught plenty of people and stopped a £3 billion worth shipment of coke from getting into the states because of her.”
“She gets that from me.” your mother said, but Javi just…smiled. 
“Maybe. But I highly doubt it.” your mother’s face dropped and your father was about to argue back, but Javi cut him short. “Who she is…that can’t be taught. That’s learned, from first hand experience. Sure, she’s not married, but she is respected. But a shit ton of people. Hell, if she tells the Ambassador not to do something, they listen to her. Because she’s good at her job. Just because she’s not you, does not give you the right to see her as nothing more than a problem to be solved or an embarrassment. She’s not lucky to have you two as parents, but you are lucky to have her. To be able to call her and talk to her and know her. Don’t take her for granted because sooner or later, you won’t even have the privilege of calling her your daughter.”
“Are you threatening us, son?”
“No.” Javi shook his head, standing. “I’m saying if I was her, I would have dropped you years ago. Instead, you get to call her your daughter. But I doubt even now that you have that opportunity. Like she said, there’s more to life than getting married. And she’s living proof of that. Don’t ignore her like I expect you have been doing her whole life, just because she’s not the living poster girl of your planned out life.”
With that, Javi laid his own share of the bill on the table before walking outside, lighting a cigarette and walking to his car. He doubted you would have gone home in case your mother came looking for you to yell at you some more. And he was right in his thinking because, as he did a tour of the Embassy parking lot, he found your car parked alone. He parked a couple spots down from you before squashing the smoke under his shoe and walking inside. From there, he found you sat at your desk no longer dressed in the dinner dress but rather a pair of black trousers and a black shirt. So, you’d been at the gun range. He could see the oiled cuticles of your fingers as you reached for your disposable coffee cup. The hair that had rested in soft curls was now thrown up into a messy ponytail that held itself up under the command of your bobble. 
What he guessed was that through stress, some of the hairs had fallen from your head and haphazardly framed your face under the orange light of your desk lamp. 
On your desk, he could see the soft trail of smoke from a cigarette. You weren’t a smoker. Hell, you’d pulled enough cigarettes, both lit and unlit, from his own lips before to stop him from smoking. So, when you didn’t do it that morning as he stood beside you on the steps of the Embassy, that should have been his first warning about how bad the day would go. 
Though he couldn’t blame you. If he were you, he probably would have gone through 2 packs of cigarettes by now. 
He watched you as you took a long drag from the cigarette, letting the smoke fill your lungs until they were over spilling. Even then, you took in some more air as you moved it away from your lips, letting it rest lazily between your two fingers as you rested the rest of your head against your hand. 
Slowly, you let the smoke release itself from your lungs before you took another deep breath of fresh air this time, and opened your eyes. 
“Don’t judge me.” you told Javi when you spotted him standing at the steps of the office. But, he just smiled and walked closer, going first to his desk, before bringing his bottle of whiskey and two glasses with him to your desk. 
“Oh, no judgement here.” Javi told you before sitting down across from you and pouring a decent amount of liquor into each glass. 
Handing you one, you thanked him. “To shitty days.”
“And shitty families.” you laughed before clinking the glass together and taking a rather large gulp and letting it burn your insides as it made its way down. 
Javi sat back in silence for a few moments watching you. “How are you feeling?”
“I don’t know.” you answered honestly. “Part of me wants to scream, the other wants to cry and the rest…just is thankful it’s over.”
“Have they always been like that?”
“My whole life.” you said. “Rosie was their perfect little girl. Always listened. Did everything without question. Danced perfect ballet at her recitals. Would always sing beautifully and could quote Shakespeare off the cuff.”
Javi furrowed his brows. “I’ve heard you speak Shakespeare. English and Spanish. You put the local production to shame.”
You narrowed your eyes a little, “Not as well as Rosie.”. 
Taking another drink, you mirrored Javi by leaning back in your own chair. “God, I remember being so jealous of her as a kid. She was always the teacher’s favourite. She could never put a foot wrong. I’d make one spelling mistake in my English essay in 5th grade and they called in my parents telling them I was distracted. That I was slipping from my education. My mother grounded me for a month and gave me a lecture every day about how Rosie was this perfect child and why couldn’t I be the same? You know, I never got into trouble at school. I got good grades, I listened to all of my teachers, I even won the local baking competition.”
“You bake?”
You smiled. “I bake. I entered it without my mom’s permission and got my teacher to sign off on it. But, God, you should have seen the look on all the parent’s faces. “She only won because they feel sorry for her.”, and then the kids started saying the same thing to me at school. The only time where I wasn’t compared to my sister was in the Academy. It was the first time I felt I belonged somewhere.”
You took another deep breath, “Jesus, you don’t want to hear about this.”
But Javi shook his head. “No. Continue.”
You looked in his eyes for a moment, seeing if he was being serious. And, once you realised he was, you slowly sat back again and continued. 
“So, you joined the academy?” Javi asked, helping you pick up where you left off. 
You nodded a small thanks and continued. “I joined the Academy and,” you laughed a little, “when my mom found out, she went ballistic. God, it was like I shot her puppy. Or Rosie, godforbid. So you can imagine, when I turned up one afternoon and told her I was moving to Columbia instead of going house hunting with Danny, - who I had broken up with, by the way, six months earlier - you can imagine how she took it. Said I was just jealous and running away because my sister was getting married. That I just wanted the spotlight for myself but the biggest thing was…I didn’t. I just wanted to disappear. I didn’t want people’s eyes on me or have a spotlight on my name. Any time it was, it was always because I was a disgrace to the family name. That I wasn’t Rosie. But…on her wedding day, I realised….I realised I wasn’t jealous of her. In fact, when she came and found me and asked me if she was doing the right thing…I felt sorry for her. But that didn’t last long because at the drop of a hat, when I said she didn’t have to marry him, that she could come with me or I could get her a plane ticket to wherever she wanted, she accused me of wanting to ruin her wedding and her life. That I was jealous of her because I couldn’t find someone to love me the way her husband does her. And, that mom was right. That I would never find anyone because what person in their right mind would want to love someone like me.”
There was other stuff that you didn’t mention to Javi, about what else your sister had said and what your mother clearly agreed with. But, after the meal tonight, he could take a pretty good guess. 
“So, what did you do?”
You took a breath, forcing the tears back into your eyes. “I did what she asked for that day. I sat out of the wedding. Sat at the back. Stayed out of everyone’s way to avoid ruining her wedding. And halfway through the reception, I left. I didn’t even say goodbye. I thought about it, but I knew they wouldn’t have cared. They were in their own happy little world that didn’t need or even want me. So, I grabbed my bags, hailed a cab and got on the first flight into Columbia.”
“So, when you landed-”
“2 hours later, I was here starting work.” you confirmed. 
“Did anyone know?”
“No.” you said, sitting back up and laying your glass on your desk. “Until a couple hours ago, no-one knew what my parents were like. I’m just…I’ll be glad when they’re back in the states. They didn’t even tell me they were coming and I woke up at 4 on the dot. I didn’t know why. I never usually do and then, an hour later, she left a message on my machine saying she was getting on her second flight and that she’s already arranged to have a cab pick her up from the airport since she knows that I’d probably still be in bed - the last time I was in bed past 8 o’clock I was on a flight to Miami.”
After a while of talking with Peña as he asked you questions about your childhood, he looked at the clock that read a quarter to midnight. “Come on, we better go home.”
“Javier Peña, in bed before 2 am? Is the world truly falling apart?”
Javi smiled at you, grabbing your jacket for you. “Come on, I’ll drive us home.”
“But you’ve had a drink-”
“I’m still under the limit.” Javi assured you. “Come on, let's go.”
By the time Javi pulled up outside of your apartment block, he locked his car behind him before you both went off in separate directions to your own apartments. 
“Peña?”
He looked back from his door. 
“Thank you, for today. It meant a lot, seriously.”
Javi smiled at you before unlocking his door and opening it up. “Anything for you, hermosa. Goodnight.”
“Night,” you smiled back before entering your own home and closing the door behind you. 
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