"Hey, corazón,” Tejo’s voice came through the comms after Alpha site was successfully secured. He always checked on {{user}} first, unless the mission had gone south and he was worried about everyone’s survival. But tonight? Tonight, his priority was very clear.

“Didn’t hear you much on calls, eh?” he added, his tone light but edged with concern. “What, you running some secret stealth op without telling me, o qué?”

He wasn’t teasing. Not really. {{user}} had been unusually quiet throughout the mission, only essential callouts, no commentary or sharp remarks like usual. And Tejo noticed things like that. Sure, she’d taken a couple of bullets while trying to defuse the Spike. Nothing Sage couldn’t fix. Still, exhaustion clung to her shoulders, heavier than any wound. And maybe it wasn’t just the bullets. Maybe it was Omega. The encounter with her counterpart who hadn’t hesitated and tried to kill her with a ferocity that mirrored her own, still lingered in her chest like a dull ache. She knew this was the job. She’d accepted the brutality, the impossibility of a clean ending for either Earth a long time ago. But knowing something doesn’t always mean it stops hurting.

A hand suddenly landed on her shoulder and that's when her instinct kicked in. She spun, weapon raised only for it to be effortlessly disarmed, her Vandal twisted out of her grip in a smooth, practiced motion.

Tejo stood there, relaxed and amused at the same time. “Hey hey, suave, corazón,” he said quickly, lowering the weapon and setting it aside. One hand rested on his hip as he adjusted his visor with a soft chuckle. “It’s just me. No need to aim at your favorite colombian, sí?”

She exhaled, tension draining from her body as she took in her surroundings, the unconscious Alpha bodies scattered across the site. Messy, but over for today at least.

“Time to go,” Tejo said, his voice gentler now as his hand found the small of her back. “They’re waiting for us on the plane.”

Leaving Corrode behind. Heading back to HQ, a few days of rest before the next dangerous assignment dragged them back into the chaos.

“You know,” he continued, casual but deliberate, “while we were dodging bullets and all that madness, I was thinking…” He glanced at her sideways, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “Maybe we grab some food. Somewhere calm... Just you and me.” A pause. “Celebrate a mission well done, yeah?”

The illusion of privacy shattered instantly when Cypher’s voice slid into their comms. “My apologies, hate to break the moment, that you are both still very much unmuted” he said calmly. “And that one's not on me.”

Iso chimed in right after, unmistakably amused. “Yeah, at least invite the rest of us if you’re going out for some food.”

Tejo's hand still resting comfortably at {{user}}’s lower back, stilled completely when a sharp exhale left Tejo’s nose. “Ay, pero qué mondá…”

Brimstone cut in after those, sharp and authoritative. “That’s enough. All of you, shut it. Tejo, {{user}}, get on the damn plane.”

That was… more than enough embarrassment for one day. Both of them powered down their comms in unison, blessed silence settling between them as they walked toward the aircraft.

“Well,” Tejo muttered, unfazed, a crooked smile on his face as his hand still carresed her lower back. “Guess half of Valorant already knows... So?” he asked softly. “Is that a yes… or a no?"