Red and Blue

[DAY 30]

"Mr Bruno, you said that you were in therapy for the loss of your family." Dr Fine says, looking down at her notes.

Giorgio exhaled. "Yes. I went for a few months after it... happened."

"Why did you stop?"

"I overheard him on the phone one day." Giorgio answers, while furrowing his eyebrows at the ceiling. "Giuseppe was on the phone with someone. I'll never forget him saying that he was thinking of giving me away to someone else."

"What happened after?" She asks.

"From then on, I lied. I said, 'Papa, I don't get nightmares anymore, because I'm all better now.'" He didn't toss me aside like he was planning to, and we lived happily ever after."

"I think we've made a breakthrough." Dr Fine says, closing the book she was scribbling notes in. "I believe you are correct when you say you are no longer suffering from the PTSD of the night you lost your family. What you actually have, is abandonment issues brought on by the fear of being left by your current family. I believe you need to obtain closure by talking to your foster father."

It hit him like one of Evan's tackles. He had hated showing any sign of weakness after that point, even going so far as to feign perfect health whenever he was sick as a child. Giorgio was stunned at the revelation and tries not to splutter. "Pft, well I'm an adult now. It doesn't matter."

The doctor shook her head with a small, sympathetic smile. "That's not what you grew up thinking, and that's not what you're thinking now. Whether you are right or wrong about him wanting to leave you, it's something you need to find out for yourself. That way, you can make peace with it."

Giorgio stood in the kitchen, statuesque as he stares at the uncut tomatoes on his chopping board.

"Giiooorgio. Giorgio! Hey!" Evan's calls elicit no response. Evan nudges his catatonic partner with his body. "Hey~ everything okay in there?"

As Giorgio is lightly bumped to the side, his environment is registering to his senses again. "Oh Evan, did you say something?"

"Oh, nothing at all— for the past eight minutes."

"Ah. My bad. What did you need?"

"I need…" Evan says, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully as he taps his mouth with his index finger. "To know what that tomato did to traumatize you so badly, that you were essentially in a standing coma."

"I— it—" Giorgio sighs. "Okay. Since we became friends, at the end of every month, Richard exchanges his homemade jam for my spicy pasta sauce."

Evan tilts his head. Something he typically does to trigger a continued explanation from others.

However, Giorgio bites his lip and looks away, uncomfortable in sharing his feelings of vulnerability.

"Okay, I understand." Evan says, as he reaches into his jacket. He pulls out his handgun with his left hand and aims it at a tomato sitting on the chopping board. "Giorgio might think you're too beautiful to dice up, but I will blow your fucking brains out so he can make his delicious sauce." With a thumb, he clicks the gun's safety off.

"EVAN NON!" Giorgio screams, grabbing his partner's wrist. With a sigh, he relents and continues explaining. "So… with everyone finding out about my mafia roots, I don't know if there is still a swap on with Richard and me… Honestly, I've been avoiding Wesley and Alan as well. I don't think they know yet."

Evan holsters his gun and puts his hands on Giorgio's shoulders. "Hey, look at me. Günther and Sven get it. If any one of the other guys decides to judge you based off where you come from rather than who you are, then joke's on him. He's the shit person who doesn't deserve your friendship— not the other way around.

Giorgio looks Evan in the eyes, largely comforted by his words. His thoughts flicker to his foster father Giuseppe for an instant. "Evan, thank you for that… and thank you even more for not shooting the tomato. That would have been such a nightmare to clean."

After a comfortable silence, Giorgio realises something. "Hey, Evan."

"Hmm? ~" His partner hums.

"Just now… you pulled out your handgun with your left. Aren't you right handed?"

Evan grins and puts his hands on his partner's hips. "I'm skilled with both my hands~" He says, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Giorgio rolls his eyes, and pushes Evan away by the face with a hand.

"YOU CABRON [FUCKER]!" An irate Santiago screams, after he spots Giorgio walking alongside Evan.

Rúben winces, not wanting things to escalate into another broken nose for his partner.

Giorgio stops walking to shrug at the agitated man. "Hmph. Takes one to know one." I hope I've correctly guessed what 'cabron' means.

"You bastard! I know you put that— that thing in my bed two nights ago! You'll pay for this!" The Spaniard barks.

Giorgio turns to face him completely. "Will I though? I have an alibi for two nights ago. Prove I did whatever you're talking about. Theoretically, if I did do it, all I did was give you what you wanted. I never even wanted any part of your pissing contest in the first place. And do you know why?" He asks rhetorically. "Because when everyone is covered in piss at the end, even the winner is a loser."

Santiago snarls, before something dawns on him. "Tomorrow. Tomorrow is the final test which determines who the strongest agents really are. We will be able to determine a winner then."

"We'll see you then." Giorgio agrees flatly. "Now do that thing I love that you do, and get out of my face."

"Not!— So fast. I propose a wager." Agent Alvaro says, before Giorgio can cut him short. "There should be actual stakes for the losing team."

Evan raises an eyebrow, while Rúben looks very worried at the possibilities.

Giorgio looks up contemplatively. "Fine. If your team is out of action first, I will cook your egg-baby which you will then proceed to eat."

"No!" Rúben gasps with his eyes wide.

"Deal." Santiago says without skipping a beat.

"If my team loses first." Giorgio continues. "I'll set my six hundred euro shoes on fire."

"SIX HUNDRED?!" Evan exclaims behind him.

"I agree with these terms." Santiago says with a smirk.

After a firm handshake between the reds, both teams leave each other unscathed for now.

[DAY 31]

It is the final grading for clearing newly partnered agents for fieldwork. A multitude of paired field agents from the European Division wait in the armoury room. It is attached to the battle stage which is modelled after a factory warehouse.

Giorgio leans against a wall and has closed his eyes to relax before it all begins. He cracks an eye open, to see what he has heard. A restless and pacing Evan, unable to contain his excitement.

"Huh. You really can't stay still. Go mingle, we still have a little while." He says, before closing his eyes again.

"Okay, okay. If you need me, I'll be chumming it up with Alexandre. I heard he served with the French Foreign Legion!" Evan trots off to chat with said agent, and introduces himself happily.

Alexandre flicks his eyes up and down to size up Evan. "Oh? So you're the pauvre bâtard [poor bastard] that is partnered with the criminal."

Evan looks at him blankly. "This was a mistake." He says, before leaving and heading back to Giorgio.

"Back so soon?" Giorgio asks curiously.

"Yeah... that guy was super boring."

"Ja! He is boring!" They hear a voice exclaim nearby.

"Günther! Sven!" Evan greets them with a nod.

Alexandre shoots the group a dirty look.

Sven has a condescending smile on his face. "Ja, the weaklings who fear our rivals are... boring." He announces loudly with a smirk. "Sven and I are going to defeat you two in this battle. We do not fear the strong, because we are also strong."

"What did you say?" The Frenchman snarls.

"Oh, I know." A nearby Bosnian agent says. "You are a pishka [pussy]."

"Did you just call me a coward?!" Alexandre snaps.

"Ha! He called you more than just a coward!" Someone laughs.

"Why you—!" He says, taking a step towards his new enemies.

"SAVE IT—!" Robert growls in an authoritative tone which silences the entire room. "—for the battlefield. The Director himself will be briefing you all now. Head out that door and assemble in the warehouse!"

All the agents in the room straighten up and march into the battlefield, the moment of reckoning finally upon them.

The chatty and easy going atmosphere in the armoury is nowhere to be found, instead tensions run high. Postures are straight and dignified, as agents fill the warehouse. Eyes look ahead and occasionally dart to the side, to size up soon to be targets.

"Ohohoho!" The Director of the VSSE laughs from the observation deck. "It always looks like a catwalk when there's a group of the European Division together. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the last grading of the month. Now as you know, it is in the form of a battle royale."

"The guns that we've given you for the exercise." The Director explains, holding up one of his own. "Are loaded with ink-filled rubber bullets. They won't kill you by any means." He shoots a bullet at a wall and it leaves a splatter of red ink on impact. "But they will still certainly still hurt."

Giorgio rolls his eyes over to see Günther smirking at him. The smile he returns looks a little venomous.

"In this battle royale." The Director continues. "Hand to hand melee combat is allowed. You may do anything, short of eye-gouging or killing your opponents."

Evan gives Sven a toothy, predatory grin.

"After there is only one pair left standing, the exercise will end." States the Director as he exits the balcony into a glass viewing room.

Keith and Robert take pairs to their designated starting points in the warehouse. After they have completed their task and vacated, the Director's voice can be heard over the intercom. "Now that everyone is in starting positions… you may begin. ACTION!"

With his command, the entire room spontaneously bursts into chaos.

Pairs shoot at each other left and right. Paint splatters across shipping containers, floors, and bodies.

In a narrow passageway made of shipping containers, Giorgio and Evan have shoulders lightly pressed against each other. They scan the intersections left and right as they work to clear the area.

Gunfire sounds to Evan's left at an intersection. Giorgio shoots an agent in the chest twice, as well as the man's partner behind him in the shoulder. As his first target falls down in pain from the rubber bullets, a clear shot is given to Giorgio, and he shoots the still standing agent in her ribs.

The pair curse and grumble from the pain, and for being taken out so early.

With both hands on his gun, Evan takes out a pair that has run in front of him at the end of the narrow passage they are clearing.

"There are targets in this junction!" Shouts a familiar voice on the right side of the end of the passage.

In recognition of who it belongs to, Evan charges forward in time to meet the figure who has burst out of the corner. Using his momentum he slams a left hook into Alexandre's jaw, knocking him out cold. He flows with the direction of the punch, putting both hands on his gun again and shoots Alexandre's partner who is in taken by surprise in the right of the T-junction.

Out in the conveyor belt area, Santiago has just finished dispatching a pair of agents, before Giorgio marks him and shoots.

Only to hit Rúben who has offered his body as a shield.

Santiago looks in shock as his partner's body spasms with the force of being hit with the rubber bullets, red ink covering his clothes like mock-blood stains as he falls to the ground. Recovering quickly enough, Santiago grimaces as he lines a shot up at Giorgio's heart.

Only to be viciously tackled to the ground from his blind spot. He coughs as Evan carelessly gets off him, stepping on his chest with a foot before shooting him in the ribs.

"Yeah." Giorgio says nonchalantly at the tackle. "He does that."

Santiago grimaces. "Why you—!"

Evan shoots Santiago in the ribs again. He then shoots him a few more times. Feeling delighted by the sensation, he shoots him several times yet again.

"Evan!" Giorgio chides. "Save your bullets, or we'll run low!"

"Worth it!" Evan chirps happily, as they both rush to engage more enemies.

"Uggghhhh." Santiago groans on the floor, as he clutches his poor, abused mid-section which is soaking wet with blue ink.

The pair have now reached a much more open space. Multitudes of agents are using factory equipment and corners of shipping containers as cover.

Using a crate as cover, the pair gun down a couple of agents, ducking out of the way to avoid incoming fire.

Giorgio suddenly narrows his eyes, and leans his shoulder down against their crate to give it a push. With some effort, it does slide forward. He looks up at Evan. "Are you ready to be a action-cop hero?"

As Giorgio is low behind the crate pushing it forward, Evan has both their guns in his hands. He fires at agents in front who are in his range, while using Giorgio's gun in his left hand to take down any agents who are occupying any of the passages their crate slides past.

Evan ducks behind the crate as red and blue bullets splatter the cover. He tosses a gun to Giorgio who wordlessly ejects the now empty ammo clip and slides in a new one in before tossing it back to him.

Evan catches it and smirks, having finished reloaded the one in his other hand as well. After there is a brief pause in enemy fire, he gets back up and continues mowing down targets as Giorgio resumes moving their cover forward.

All there is left of the area are agents on the ground clutching their torsos and ribs. Before they can leave the area to find more targets, Günther and Sven appear.

"Well, well, well." Says Giorgio. "Looks like you weren't all talk when you said that you were both strong like us."

"No." Smiles Sven. "We're both definitely very strong— see for yourself!" He exclaims, whipping out his gun to fire at the pair.

The battle is just as fierce as it is evenly matched. It seemed for every bullet the pair dodged, their own missed their marks.

Evan is the first to run out of bullets. He hurls his handgun at Sven's head, who after sidestepping the unconventional projectile, is met with a whip kick aimed at his head.

Günther has finally run out of bullets, he slides to safety around a corner. Giorgio's gun sings loud clicks as he pulls the trigger, alerting them that he too is also out of bullets.

Recognising the sound, Günther charges out of cover to engage Giorgio in a melee.

As his rival comes hurtling closer, Giorgio fishes a bullet hiding in his jacket pocket and loads it into his clip. The German agent throws a lunging punch at his head, just as Giorgio slides the loaded clip back into his pistol.

Giorgio falls backwards on the ground, only narrowly avoiding the punch. Propped steady with an elbow resting behind him, he points his gun at Günther's heart and pulls the trigger.

"You sneaky Italian." Günther says with a laugh.

With a bang, red ink splatters across the German's chest and the room is silent for a second. A buzzer sounds as a green light on the wall lights up.

Giorgio and Evan are heartily congratulated by their rivals as the winning team, as all the teams are gathered and debriefed.

"Congratulations." Keith says, trying not to smile too proudly. "You both clear this exercise with an S-rank."

"Now after you hand in your egg assignment together—" Robert adds. "—your overall score gives you a final B-rank score, passing you for active duty."

"Wait!" Günther exclaims suddenly. "We ver not allowed to eat our eggs?!"

"Günther no!" Evan exclaims in horror.

"But it is food." Sven states in their defence.

"But why would you eat your own BABY?" Keith sighs, facepalming himself.

Robert massages his temples. "What kind of monster would even try to eat their own child?"

Giorgio sheepishly turns around to avoid the pointed look Evan is giving him.

After all the agents are dismissed, Santiago has found the pair. "Giorgio! About the wager, please…" He says, coughing as he holds his fairly bruised ribs.

Giorgio narrows his eyes at him. "You made a deal with the devil. You can't just say 'no thanks' after you lose."

"I accept my loss. But please, let me change the punishment. You will enjoy it more."

"Oh? How so?" Giorgio asks, intrigued at the other man's begging.

"You've always found my shoes a little ugly—"

"Incredibly hideous."

"Right. I will light them on fire right now, in place of sacrificing our team egg." Santiago proposes.

Giorgio smiles. "I do so hate your shoes, but why the sudden change?"

"I didn't realise it at first. But you didn't offer your own egg as a sacrifice, because it meant something to your partner." Santiago says, briefly looking at Rúben with regret. "So you were man enough to offer your own overpriced shoes for the bet."

But they were on sale. Giorgio thinks to himself. "Yes. I'm genuinely dreading the day when that egg reaches its expiry date."

"EGGS EXPIRE?!" Evan exclaims in horror behind him.

"Fine." Giorgio agrees. "You may offer your shoes instead of your egg. We should be able to find some flammable liquid in the armoury."

Santiago nods thoughtfully. "After all of that— you will not even ask why?" He asks.

"Ask why you've been after me since the start of the month, I take it."

"Yes." He says, uncharacteristically softly.

"Well then, get it off your chest. I'm all ears."

Santiago laughs, but it sounds hollow. "I never liked you to begin with, I was ranked third in the European Division, in an organisation which only recruited the best of the best across the world. But I never got so much as a nod from you, I was probably never even reflected in your eyes."

Giorgio looked at the man sternly. "Look, don't take this the wrong way— but that's how I treat everyone."

"Hmph. What you claim, yet you are friends with the strongest in the American Division and the Ace himself. But that's not all." The Spaniard continues.

"Ho boy, there's more."

"Yes there is. Santiago nods. "You took it."

Giorgio is confused. "Took what?"

"You took my ranking at the start of the month."

"Your ranking? You mean…" Giorgio says, remembering that ranks change at the start of every year. Oh. So that's what he meant by 'was' ranked third.

"Yes, you are ranked third overall in the European Division now. After my trusted old partner was retired, I was given a struggling rookie to re-partner with, while you… You were given the most promising rookie in the division. This was the final slap in the face."

Giorgio softens his tone to explain his side of things. "Santiago, I'm not friends with the strongest because they're strong. I'm friends with them because I like them. As a rookie, my Final Day battle was against Alan and Wesley. And Richard is a foodie. One day, after he caught me in the hallway with my groceries, we became friends."

"You didn't seek them out because they were strong…" Santiago realised, in an epiphany of sorts.

"No. More like them finding me, which I am eternally grateful for. And this guy—" Giorgio motions to Evan behind him. "—was paired with me, because it says on my report 'Does not play well with others.' They literally paired me with the 'blue' with the biggest balls they could find, because I've scared all the other compatible ones away. So you know what? You're right, I am a dick. But no, I don't get preferential treatment, and I don't give it out either."

Santiago chuckles, exasperated and amused, somehow. All the stress of a perceived slight and his own fixation on being strong. It had gotten to his head, and boiled over into anger to be taken out on a fellow agent and his own partner.

He starts taking off his shoes.

Giorgio eyes him for a second. "Santiago, don't bother. I'm in a good mood at the moment so you can forge-"

The Spaniard puts up a hand to hush him as he continues to take them off. "No. It is alright. I am a man of my word. Also, an apology for giving you grief for an entire month."

After they are off, he takes a lighter out and breaks the top to pour the fluid over his shoes. He shoots the concrete ground and the sparks ignite the fuel.

They all watch the flames engulf Santiago's brogues.

"You know. Rúben's not super weak or anything, just inexperienced with such intense combat. They never would have trusted partnerless me with him." Giorgio says, shaking his head. "Someone who has been reliably partnered with, and has held a higher rank for longer on the other hand..."

Santiago scoffs with a small smile on his face. The flames flicker out, leaving molten goop in the place of his brogues.

He looks at the duo. "Agent Bruno, Agent Bernard. It was an honour to duel with you both."

"Likewise." Giorgio says. Evan nods with a grin.

Santiago starts walking away from the duo, but he pauses. "Come on Rúben, let's go home."

Oh man! Evan thinks, excitedly. Wait until Giorgio opens the suite door. Richard has been speed-cooking for everyone~ "Ladies first." Evan says, as he gestures to their suite door.

Giorgio raises an amused eyebrow as he lets himself into their quiet, empty suite to finally rela—

"SURPRISE!" Alan, Wesley shout at the top of their lungs, as Keith and Robert fire party poppers into the air.

Being taken completely by surprise, Giorgio yelps and reflexively fires a warning shot above Keith and Robert's heads with a live round.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Robert yells, as he rises from off the ground.

"YOU COULD HAVE SHOT US!" Keith interjects, as he turns around to see the new bullet hole in the wall.

"Maybe DON'T surprise a field agent with something that sounds exactly like GUNFIRE!" Giorgio yells back in his defence.

With another bang, everyone falls to the ground in panic. The only one standing is Richard, who was the one to pull a party popper this time.

"FUCKING HELL RICHARD!" Robert growls, as everyone else on the floor is laughing.

[DAY 37]

Giorgio and Evan head towards the Director's office to receive their first mission together. As they walk past Santiago, they give him a friendly nod.

Santiago smiles as he nods back to them in return.

When the Spaniard has returned to his suite, Rúben pushes a box into his hands.

"Look at what he got you!" The younger agent laughs.

A new pair of Italian shoes greet Santiago as he lifts the lid off the box.

The Director smiles at Giorgio and Evan. He presents the pair with matching boxes of their own. They open them to reveal matching handgun modifications. Extended clips which hold up to nine rounds and a light attachment to find targets in the dark.

"Gentlemen, I have your first mission for you."

[DAY 48]

It was almost three weeks ago now. The party that their friends threw for him and Evan, for finally being cleared for partnered field work. At a point, Giorgio had quickly turned around to discreetly rub a tear out of his eye. Relieved, that his friends all chose to remain just that.

Today, he is heading to Palermo, Sicily. His hometown. While he is definitely nervous to finally ask Giuseppe about what he had feared, he isn't scared with Evan by his side.

[DAY 372]

It's evening.

Giorgio walks on the beautiful marble floors of his family mansion. The finest, of course, for the most powerful mafia in all of Sicily. The entire Bruno family is mingling with their guests, delicate foods paired with the best wine in the country.

Little ten year old Giorgio has just tucked in his even tinier brother and sister. He is a wonderful big brother, the twins are warm in bed, but now it's time to let papa and mama know. He carefully closes the door so that the chatter of the guests downstairs doesn't wake up the little ones.

Giorgio walks the halls to head downstairs to the dining room where the adults are playing.

Suddenly, a little boy pops out of the corner. He has the fluffiest alabaster blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. Lots of light freckles speckle his little face. He looks maybe six or seven at the very most. "Hi! Nice to meetcha! I'm Evan Bernard."

"Bernard, huh?" Giorgio ponders out loud, noting that the child is most likely French.

The blonde wraps his arms around Giorgio and squeezes him in a hug. "Oui! Bernard! It is said we are a line descended from bears!" He laughs.

"Ah. You're so loud, really." Giorgio says. "Look Mr Bear, we can play. But we need to go downstairs okay?"

"Uh-huh." Evan whispers happily. He grabs Giorgio by the hand to hurriedly drag him down the stairs.

They find all the adults downstairs, still lavishly dressed in formal wear chatting and dining without a care. For some reason the rooms are lit by daylight flooding through the windows.

Evan leads his self-declared playmate to Giorgio's parents, Luciano and Fiore Bruno. Next to them is a young Giuseppe in his police uniform.

Fiore crouches down to talk to her child. "You are such a sweet boy, Giorgio. I'm glad you found such a good friend to play with." She says, turning to smile at Evan as well.

"I'll look after him!" Evan exclaims, giving Fiore a military salute with his little hand which isn't holding Giorgio's.

She fondly pets him on the head.

"Giorgio." Luciano says tenderly. "We are going somewhere now."

Giorgio stares up at his father, knowing the meaning behind his words. "Okay." He says softly.

"This man here, Giuseppe. He will be your famiglia [family] now." Luciano says, looking over to him.

"Mio caro [My dear]." Giuseppe says with soulful, dark eyes. "I'm sorry you thought that I was ever going to give you away. I wasn't faulting you for having night terrors, I was doubting whether I was the one who was good enough to be raising you. Doubting whether I could give you even a quarter of the luxury you had— whether you would ever stop suffering your nightmares with what little help I could give you. I had my share of doubts haunt me, but I never regretted making you my family."

After teary hugs with everyone. Luciano and Fiore wave their goodbyes at the trio from the mansion door.

Giuseppe calls to his two little stragglers. "Come, my piccole uova [little eggs], hop in the car. I'll take you both somewhere grand to play."

The boys spend a long while chattering while looking at scenic hills and colourful wildflowers. Giorgio boasts that he and Giuseppe are the best at cooking. Evan brags that he makes the best mud cakes from 'a hundred percent real mud'.

Eventually, Giorgio and Evan slump against each other, asleep.

Giorgio opens his eyes. It's bright in the aeroplane now. He and Evan had slumped against each other, heads resting against each other in the comfortable airplane seats carrying only them as passengers.

His partner also stirs to look at him blearily, but somehow with his usual high amount of enthusiasm.

"Hope you're not hungry after we land. It's gonna be a long day stopping terrorists from getting that top secret weapon." Evan says with a grin.

"Oh? You could just make me one of your famous 'real-mud mud cakes' then." Giorgio smiles, as he leans against his partner again to go back to sleep.

Evan blinks at him and pauses. "Huh? I've never mentioned that since I was a kid… and I don't remember telling you ever." He gasps, and starts shaking Giorgio roughly to wake him up. "We— we have psychic powers!"

"Get off me you crazy kid. I want to sleep." Giorgio mumbles a bit grouchily, as he uses a hand to push Evan's face away.

"But this is important!" Evan protests. "I think we have a psychic bond!"

"Go away! I was having a nice dream and I want to go back!"

As they bicker, the aeroplane soars through blue skies to take them towards their new mission starting at California International Airport.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! :3 I hope you've enjoyed this cop-buddy action as much as I have.