A/N: I corrected the chapter!

When I get to the alley, a shiver runs down through my spine. I see the spot where Root was before and I get closer, seeing blood stains on the floor. There are two major stains that probably belong to Martine and the other guy. Did they get out of here alive?

Something catches my attention as I get further in the alley: the tiny red light of the camera. I stay still for a moment, remembering that Samaritan is still there, watching us. But Root... Fuck this shit. Fuck Samaritan. Fuck everything. I face the camera, risking everything. "I need to know what they were saying, what they were asking her." I see a long beep of that light and I was expecting Samaritan's assets cornering me when the light went off, but, instead, a phone around the corner rings. So I walk towards it and I answer and I hear it. The conversation between Root and them. Well, more like the interrogation. I hear how Root struggles to keep quiet as Martine asks her where I am, where Harold is. They ask her about the Machine as she whimpers. I can hear the guy panting, Root grunting, not breaking under the pressure. I'm gripping hard on the phone and when I hear both Root's shots, I hit the phone and I turn around, walking away from that disgusting place. My anger is at capacity, but for now I need to make sure she is okay. I need to make sure that she knows I'm here, for her.

The sun is rising by the time I get home and I find Root again on the couch, her legs bent on to her chest and circled by her arms. She doesn't look at me even when I sit next to her, staring at her puffy eyes. "I know." She suddenly looks at me, surprise filling her features. "Thanks for protecting me."

"How?" She whispered, still surprised.

"I asked Her."

"Wh-How? Did you expose yourself?!" She drops her legs and scoots closer to me, one hand on my knee, the other one comes to grip the neck of my shirt. Even in her situation she wants me safe, fine. She keeps protecting me. "Do you realize the risk you have t-"

"Root." I interrupt her and she stares at me, her eyes getting wetter. "I understand." A tear runs her cheek as she hears those two words. "And I will do it again if I need to."

Her hand that was on my knee, now is running up my leg, getting under my shirt, brushing with her fingers my abs and going towards my lower back. She rests her head on my lap, her grip on my shirt's neck losing up. I caress her hair softly. "You have been taking care of me this past months." I murmur loud enough so she can hear me. "Let me take care of you now. Let me protect you."

She stares up at me and takes a minute. "Can I ask you for a favour then?" I nod, confident. "I've been trying to take this smell off my skin..."

I furrow my eyebrows. "What smell?"

"The smell of the alley. It's nauseous."

I gulp hard, images of the security camera on my mind. I knew Root was affected - I mean, who wouldn't?- but I've never thought she would be like this. "Sure. Come on." She stands and leads the way to the bathroom. She is shaking while she starts to get undress, breathing getting harder. I place a hand on hers and I make her to look at me. "You don't have to rush, Root." Her hands drop to her sides, allowing me to proceed. I take her shirt off slowly and her breathing gets harder and harder as I reach behind her to unclasp her bra. I look her in the eye. "Relax, Root. It's me." With one hand, I take hers and make her touch my face, my features. "It's me. We've done this thousand times. You always are naked around our place. You always make me get naked too, tie me up, nip my body, scratch it-" I get her bra off, showing her round and small breasts. I can't get my eyes off of her naked torso. "You play until I can't get anymore." She chuckles lightly and makes me smile, now glancing up at that beautiful mouth. "I've never felt this connection with anyone. Until I met you, I've never thought I could be... In a r-sharing a place." I huff as I take down her pants and I silently ask for permission to take her underwear off by looking at her and waiting for her to nod. When I get her naked, she hugs herself, unlikely the confident butt naked Root I know, so I decide to hurriedly get naked too. I don't want her to feel awkward.

"You know?" I was getting out of my last piece of clothing when she started talking. I look at her, expectantly. "It's weird for me to be all into sex. I've never been really sexually active. I avoided it. I was so into computers and nerd stuff that I didn't care for partners or even needs." I scoot closer and stand inches away from her. "Then I met you and your insatiable hunger." She chuckles with tears in her eyes. "It's not like I was a nun. I had sex before with a few people, but I've never ended up liking those interactions because it felt weird to me. All that softness and romantic and ideal orgasms that we see on TV and movies and we want to replay in our bedroom... It's wrong. And then, I met you, you said you enjoy 'that kind of things' and, later, you pushed me to that wall of the CIA safe house. And you nipped my throat, you put your hand on it, you went all rough on me, and it was perfect. Perfect because I felt understood for the first time. I felt like I found my place in the world. But yesterday, in the alley-" She takes a deep breath. "I'm rambling."

"No, you're not." I say as I lead her into the shower and I turn it on. "Please, keep talking." I wait for the water get warmer and I pull her under the shower spray with me. When we are soaked, I get some soap and started to soap her arms.

"The alley... It was rough, it was similar to what we do. But it was wrong." She is barely keeping it together. "Because even if we torture each other, even if we find pleasure in pain, it's great, it's erotic, it's... Awesome. But it's wrong when other people tries the same things on me." She shivers at that statement. "It doesn't make sense, right?"

My hands travel from her arms to her clavicles. "It makes sense to me." My hands keep traveling down her torso, brushing the side of her breasts as they do, and I soap her belly. I'm trying to avoid certain places, but I'm getting impatient. I've never had to control myself like this when we are naked. I huff and she looks at me confused. "I don't know how you do it. How you know what to do. How you did know what to do when I got back from Samaritan." I place my hand on her chest. "All I'm thinking right now is how I do to not make you freak out, what if I touch you in the wrong place, what if I try to kiss y-" Her lips are on mine, interrupting my sentence. She doesn't even move them, she just places them there, her eyes closed and her hands on my waist. Even if I can't express myself appropriately, she always gets me.

A/N: it's funny how I relate to Shaw sometimes. I'm really bad at social skills.

For example, today my mum's friend tried to call me but I was busy. When I saw the missed call, I texted her if something was going on and she said she just wanted to talk. So, with all my good intentions, I said I was a bit busy and also that I didn't like phone calls because it doesn't allow me to do few stuff at the same time, I prefer texting instead. And know she got all mad at me because I'm irrespective to her. So, I had to apologise even if I didn't do anything wrong.

Apparently, sometimes it's more polite to lie than to be honest, and I don't understand that. Who the hell would prefer lies over than truth?

And I hope I can find a significant other that doesn't understand that too, like Shaw found Root - some of my exs also got mad at me when I was being honest.

Anyway! I love your comments and your support. It means a lot to me! I hope i'm writing chapters well enough for you. If you have any suggestions, just say it or dm me ;)

See you soon!