Work Text:
Forest in the morning had a certain smell you always love. Since Los Vaqueros' facility was surrounded by wood, you love to clock in early.
"Good morning, Cowboys" You briefly greet the guard on the gate as you hand them your ID to be scanned.
"Good morning, Sergeant! You're the first one today." Even after the all-night shift, the guard still did a good job returning your energy back. It left you smiling as you parked your motorcycle.
Make sense why they acted so up-energy even with no sleep last night. El Sin Nombre was caught just two days ago. The truth and process might be stressful for some parties, but the outcome brought bigger thing; peace to Las Almas.
It has never been this peaceful around here.
Being a Staff Sergeant yourself, you shared an office with two other people. Since it was still 7 in the morning you had a plan to put your bag down in the office and had a quick exercise.
Only to catch a glimpse of somebody you know that was still in the same clothes as you left them last night, you stopped your legs from heading to your office.
It was Alejandro Vargas sitting in his office doing paperwork with his glasses on.
All three of you; Alejandro, Rodolfo, and you grew up together. As the youngest you did not enlist in the military with them. Still, you catch up very soon and it didn't change the fact that three of you knew each other very well.
So you forgot about your idea of exercising and chose to knock. He didn't even turn his head to look at who was at the door, you went in once he approved.
"Al—" shortened for Alejandro, you tend to call him sir when both of you are in working mode. This time, just to let him know you were here for personal reasons.
"Hermanita! ¿Que pasa? [Lil sis! What up?]" it brought a smile to you whenever he called you in a joyful tone. He put down his glasses and pen to pay full attention to you.
You saw the other desk was empty from files that usually stacked high, so you asked while approaching Alejandro, "where's Rudy?"
"I told him to go off duty. He had been going through enough."
From capturing The Unnamed, releasing Alejandro, taking back this facility— sure Rodolfo had been through enough, you've read all the reports.
But was not he too?
"You have not left this facility since last night, am I right?" Immediately turn the interrogating voice on as you stood next beside him as expected, you were concerned.
"Paperwork can be pain in the ass, right?"
"You're right, but what paperwork took you eight hours to finish?" as long as you could remember, you left him at 10PM last night. Sure it was not only the paperwork he did.
Any light from his face soon disappeared. Alejandro pressed his back on the working chair, staring at the ceiling for a moment as he sighed before turning his head to you that stood close right to him, "good observation, Sergeant."
His tired eyes smiled at you.
Gently you ran your hand between his hair, feeling each gap of your fingers with his strands and just brushing it back. You noticed his eyes are closed once you start moving your hand, quite peaceful to him.
"Shouldn't you have a day off too after Rudy? Once he is back, you can trust our base to him," in the end your voice was almost half whispered, "Just like him, you've gone through enough. You can't distract yourself with work forever, Al."
He opened his eyes to give you a stare, you were right. They just moved Valeria to a safer place with a higher guard rate than this facility, what was he worried about?
"They would miss me." he said while still enjoying the treat on his head.
Your eyebrows raised, "who would?"
"Mi niña [my girl]" he answered firmly with a huge grin plastered on his face.
His answer made you roll your eyes while holding a smile. It wasn't you, it wasn't even anyone in his life; it was his gun.
A giggle slipped out from you as you kept brushing your finger on his hair. Your tone was getting softer, "I advise you as a Staff Sergeant, you should at least have some sleep, Sir."
A little nod he did. Even with zero sleep last night, he still had some sense of humor in his tone, "my Staff Sergeant will not brush my hair like this but roger that, Sergeant."
- fin