Carmine's silence was enough to make Sam grin like a Cheshire Cat. She had Carmine right where she wanted him, in reality he just didn't want to move. Carmine was content sitting there taking in her scent all day, 'I fucking love strawberries, the fruit, and that artificial smell, like strawberry candy.' Before he could protest the removal of his helmet however, she reached her arms out and placed them on the sides of the battered metal face covering and started lifting. It was usually a struggle to get that thing off of him.
Out of pure instinct Carmine reached up and protested the removal of his helmet by wrapping his large hands around Sam's wrists, gently pulling his helmet back onto his head, much to Sam's dismay.
"Gotta patch those bleeders up one way or another Carm. You gonna let me, or am I gonna have to do this the hard way?" Sam said her tone turning serious, her smirk now mixed with the hint of competition in her eyes. Carmine shivered slightly at her gaze but didn't give in. He usually didn't mind taking his helmet off, he rarely ever took it off unless necessary though. No, she was going to have to work for it.
"You're going to have to pry this helmet off of my cold dead body Sammy, especially after all that teasing." Carmine retorted with a smirk of his own under his helmet. "That's how it's going to be huh? You know I hate when Baird calls me Sammy, it sounds pretty sweet coming from you." Sam chuckled and before Carmine could react she reared back and head butt him barely moving the wall of a man.
Sam let out a pained groan and Carmine let go of her wrists fearing she hurt herself, 'This isn't the first time she's hit my helmet. Shit it looks like she finally hurt herself hitting me, me and my damn pride.' Carmine thought as Sam pulled her hands back to her head. Carmine rose from his stool and reached out to her.
"Shit Sam I'm sorrryyyyy-!!" Carmine couldn't finish his sentence. Sam in a surprise attack leaped over the bar counter and tackled Carmine to the floor, nocking a couple stools over in the process. She straddled his waist and began her assault. "Come on Clay, you really think a little head butt could hurt me?" Sam said throwing a punch at his helmet which he easily caught. He pulled her down to his level and snaked a hand around her throat.
Instantly she was on her back, Clayton, having flipped them, now stood over her, hand gently squeezing her neck, "Should've known you were just playing around. You've taken worse blows to the head than that Sammy." Carmine said to a shocked looking Sam, the mood rising into a competitive playfulness. A fire was burning in Sam's eyes a mix of anger and something Clay couldn't figure out, but an emotion he's seen plenty of times before, it was desire.
Sam was staring up at him, his grip on her neck was weak but strong enough she couldn't break free, 'That cheeky fucker. If he wasn't so damn strong I would've had him for sure. He'd better close his legs though, or these hands might go wandering.' Sam thought with a smirk, her dirty thoughts making the smirk wider and wider. She was placed directly in between his legs like how he'd usually mount a locust when he was about to smash their face in. For her it was less of a disadvantage than Clay realized.
Carmine POV:
I stood over Sam, hand around her neck, 'You and your damn strawberry hair.' The smirk she had made me slightly nervous. Meant shit was about to get serious. The only way she can get the better of me when we spar or fool around like this is by doing...things to me. I never really focused on how soft her skin is though. She looks gorgeous laying here. Anger and that weird look, like I'm a piece of steak and she's a hungry lioness, rolling around in those beautiful brown eyes. I roll my thumb around on her neck and it feels impossibly soft. I wonder if all of her is that soft. I know for a fact her hair is. I really want to sift my hand through it, but to do that I'd have to take my gloves off, don't want her gettin caught on my gauntlets.
I felt a tingle shoot up my spine, that almost predatory gaze is making my head spin, either that or blood loss is finally taking its toll on me, shit how long has it been since the crash, an hour, 2 hours? How long was I passed out on the beach? I can hear the partying outside still so not too long. Shit I must've lost a lot of blood if I'm thinking like this. Dammit why does she have to be so attractive.
Come on Clay cut it out, she does this kind of thing all the time. No reason to get all horny teenager on her here, as hard as that's becoming. No, no, she has Baird, she's been doing this stuff since hollow storm. Just normal Sam stuff, nothing more...
Sam POV:
God if only he would squeeze just a bit harder. His thick, calloused hand wrapped around my neck. I swear I could've been dreaming but it seems he's rubbing his thumb up and down the skin of my neck. I've been trying to drop subtle hints to this thick lug for years that I like him. He just can't see it even if it's staring him down.
Even after that night in his room on the ship. Carmine didn't even think twice about it, we didn't fuck or anything but still. I've gotten so desperate I started flirting with Baird and complaining to Clayton about him when we talk. Not even a slight rise out of him.
He's so frustrating sometimes, especially now since he's just fondling my throat. Fine if he wants to fondle me, I can do the same. I smirk even wider. Clay must have noticed because he stopped rubbing my neck. I heard him taking deep breaths through his nose. I know you love strawberries big guy but I haven't used that stuff since Anvil Gate. Maybe its still in the air and he's trying to figure out what it is? This could be the distraction I need.
You're gonna regret not taking off that helmet the easy way Clayton. You big, burly, sexy, bastard. I'd better hurry up and get him off me, I'll be drenched in his blood if I don't. His blood was dripping onto my armor, dumbass. That and it'll only be a matter of time until the gears outside want something to drink and come looking.
Normal POV:
"Seems I've won Sammy." Clay broke the silence. Having said that only made Sam's smirk widen. Carmine's hand loosened slightly, just enough for Sam to wiggle out. Carmine tried to catch her neck back but was too slow.
Sam quickly pushed herself into his crotch, her chest armor level with his thighs and hands pressing into his groin. The action startled Carmine so badly that he began to back up and stumble over a barstool that had been tipped over, seeing her opportunity Sam then pounced on him knocking him back onto the floor. In the scuffle Sam managed to lock Carmine's arms under her muscular thighs, effectively pinning him underneath her while she straddled him, sitting on the less armored part of his stomach.
"Damn Clayton I always thought you were just packin an extra boltok in those pants. Now where were we." Sam teased with a triumphant look on her face.
"Hey that's not fair, you can't just go grabbing whatever you like, I can't do that to you!" Carmine whined as Sam laughed and began taking out her first aid kit. He tried freeing his arms, but Sam tightened her grip on the massive gear. He could feel the strong muscles in her legs squeezing, effectively locking his arms to his sides. If it were anyone else he probably would've moved them by now. But he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it, just a little.
"Damn strawberries, and your big thighs." Carmine thought out loud, catching Sam's attention, "Ah so you were smelling my hair. You know know you love my legs Carm, feel free to give them a rub, could use a good massage. Oh, and sorry for grabbing at your jewels, gotta play dirty sometimes." Sam teased, causing Clay to blush under his helmet. To be honest she wasn't very sorry, 'Wish you didn't back away big guy, been trying to get a good feel for a loooong time. Well at least now when I call you big guy, I have even more of a reason. I fucking knew you were smelling my hair. Question is how did he smell strawberries? My hair is a sweaty, dirty, mess.' Sam thought, her mind rolling over just how well Clayton's sense of smell might be.
"If you let me up maybe I could give you that massage." Clay said, breaking Sam from her thinking.
"Hmm tempting, but it could also be a trick, gotta clean you up first, then maybe you can pay me back." Sam shot back with a wink.
"It's not a trick, scouts honor." Clay said attempting to wiggle his arms free with little gain. The outsides of his hands were now pressed to the area of her thighs below her butt. Close enough that, with a little more wiggle room to flip his hands, he could easily grab a hold of her and lift her off of him. However Sam felt his movement and tightened her legs to counter any chance of him getting a good grip on her.
She leaned down to him so that her face was right over his, 'If he wants to smell my hair he can.' Her hair hung down onto his helmet. Carmine held his breath, the thick strands of hair were sweaty, oily, a general mess, but Clay didn't mind, 'She knows. Fuck why does she always have to figure out what pushes my buttons. Ah whatever, might as well enjoy the mix of her and the strawberries, both equally sweet in my book.'
"Now where do you think those grippers are going Carm. I thought of you as a gentleman, trying to grab my ass, for shame." Sam teased while wiggling herself to make his hands rub up even closer to her behind. She straightened herself to Carmine's dismay, he let out a small sigh as she started dabbing a spare rag with water from her canteen, beginning to clean his neck and armor of his blood. "I don't know what you think I'm doing. You're the one wiggling on me, I'm not doing a damn thing."
"Suuuuure you aren't Carm. Now let's get those cuts cleaned yeah?" Sam said with a wink, seductively walking two fingers from his chest plate, up his neck to his chin. She curled her hand under the bits of helmet that covered his chin and pulled up gently as to not disturb his wounds further. Carmine swallowed hard.
Clayton was on autopilot at this point, experiencing sensory overload. From having Sam on top of him, to the thoughts of her grabbing his crotch, to how good it felt when she rubbed herself against his hands, and the strawberries, 'The Goddamn Strawberries!'. He had to calm down. He was normally well composed when it came to women, but Sam always knew how to get under his skin.
He thought of anything he could to avoid any issues with his southern region. He thought of the locust, his guns (which besides his boltok, all lay on the counter of the bar, along with Sam's weapons), the fact that he was still bleeding. It was working, however it was an uphill battle, but not one that he was going to lose.
Miraculously his blood hadn't gotten into his eyes and the blood flow slowed drastically. So as Sam removed his helmet he was able to get a good look at her for the first time in weeks without his helmet on. She was just as beautiful as ever. With his face exposed he knew he couldn't be sniffing at will, so he let the smells come to him naturally. Thankfully Carmine has had a good amount of time to train his senses as not to pick up any unwanted smells or sounds.
Helmet finally off Sam got her fair gander at the man underneath and she reckoned the struggle was worth it. Carmine rarely ever took off his helmet, not because he had horrible scarring or was bad looking. Quite the opposite. His sharp, strong jaw was littered with small scars, black stubble ghosted the bottom half of his face. His gray eyes resembled that of the color of his armor. His hair was quite messy, having been a while since getting it cut. It was a black oily mess, but when Sam's fingers brushed against it, she had to stop herself from filling her hands with it. Saying he was handsome was an understatement.
Sam's blush was evident, 'Shit, get it together Byrne. We've seen his face more than anyone. J-Just start getting him cleaned up. We're not some horny schoolgirl. God how did he get better looking since I last saw him.' Sam didn't move, she drank Carmine in, even covered in his own blood he was the definition of handsome. The combination of scars that littered his face mixed with his own prevalent good looks made him so much more desirable in her books.
She laughed a little looking at Carmine. His good looks usually got him into weird situations in which some of the female gears had tried making moves on him, Sam had been there to "help" though, dissuading most from coming onto him. 'He's mine. Even if he doesn't know it.'
Sam was quiet as she worked, cleaning the rest of his armor, she was deep in thought, a frown now taking its place on her face. Carmine had a look of concern.
He knows what it means to get lost in the depression that war brings, he began hatching ideas to bring her out of that slump before it got worse, 'We were never great at starting conversation. Maybe talk about...no. Fuck I'm bad at this.'
The reality of her thinking was less severe compared to when she pulled Carmine out of his near rampage at the front of the hotel. Thankfully Carmine was in a much better headspace when Sam could interfere with his intrusive thoughts.
Sam was looking at the bright side, trying to have a good time with someone she cared for deeply. She was still mourning the loss of Dom, but she cried her fair share already. She would honor the memory of her close friend by following the advice he gave her.
'You just have to try and be direct with him. I know he's pretty thick in the head, I mean anyone who knows Carmine knows how emotionally damaged he is. Shit the guy has given his whole life up to killing the grubs, he's killed more than me, shit even more than Marcus. But if you truly care about him, you'll make it work. It just might take a bump on the head for him to realize what he's got in front of him. Carmine has lost everything. Go give him something to hold on to, but don't rush anything, take it slow and steady.' Dom's last bit of advice rang in the back of her head.
She noticed the look of concentration on Clayton's face and was barely choking back laughter. "Hey! What's so funny?" Carmine said, his concentrated look turned to a smirk. Clayton's animated expression made her giggle, "Haha, nothing big guy. You're just very expressive. With and without that bloody helmet on." Sam said.
Clay squinted his eyes at her, causing another snort of laughter to jolt from her. Thankfully she was done cleaning his face. Clayton always healed pretty fast so his wounds stopped bleeding after Sam put a bit of pressure on them. The split in his bottom lip went down a bit further to his chin, it wasn't deep enough to need stitches. The slice on his eyebrow was deep, going slightly up his forehead diagonally, that however, would need a few stitches, 'Another scar for that handsome face.' Sam lightly prodded the wound trying to make it seem like she was focused on it, her eyes betrayed her however.
"See something you like? If you let me up maybe I'll keep my helmet off just a bit longer." Clay said while wiggling his eyebrows, and with that Sam began fully laughing causing Carmine to smile and chuckle along with her. He loved the sound of her laugh, it was music to him. With her on top of him he could feel the vibration of her laughter.
"You should smile more, it looks good on you mate. Unfortunately you're gonna need stitches for your brow there, another battle scar for the Grub Killer." Sam said after she was done laughing. "Don't get used to it Byrne. Now how about you let me up." Carmine said flashing his teeth.
"Ah that's the best part Carm. Technically I don't have to let you up to stitch ya. Buuuuut, I'll make an exception for you. Since you showed me those pearly whites, you'll only owe me a massage big guy, price of doing business."
"Oh I'll happily give you one Sam, you've patched me up enough times to cash in some Carmine time." the toothy grin on his face made Sam chuckle, "Wish I would've known about this little cash in system earlier, my body has been aching since the day I met ya. This massage better be full body, not lookin for some half assed back rub."
"No I wouldn't dare cheat you out of relaxation. Honestly Sam you've earned it, now let me up please." Sam let out a sigh knowing in the long run, getting a full body massage would be worth it. Sam stood up, grabbing her medical supplies and Carmine's helmet. She made her way to a stool and sat down, Carmine followed.
They were in relatively close proximity to each other. Sam began dabbing a rag in vodka with which she used to clean the cut on his brow. Carmine didn't whine, wince, gasp, anything. He just stared into her eyes as she began the process of closing his wound. His steel orbs showing nothing but admiration, "Thank you Sam, I know I don't make it easy sometimes, but thank you, for everything. You've been good to me, a better friend than a monster like me deserves." Clay whispered the last bit, his head starting to dip down. His mind traveling to a situation they were in a year ago.
Monster. The word rang in her ears, she looked into Carmine's eyes, and noticed how close her and Carmine were. She let one of her hands drop to his cheek and ran her thumb over the few scars littered on his cheek, "You did what you had to do, those assholes were no better than the grubs and you know it." Sam said to him, she understood what he was driving at, 'It wasn't your fault big guy. You did what you had to do, and you saved me.'
He raised his head and Sam smirked. She finished closing his wound, her hand now holding his chin in place so he couldn't move, not that he'd want to. He blinked at her and her now free hand ran through his restless hair to the back of his head, playing with it. Carmine visibly shuddered, closing his eyes and releasing a groan he didn't know was trapped in his lungs, he was enjoying the sensation.
Sam was hungrily dragging her nails along his scalp. His hair wasn't long enough to hang below his neck, but long enough to lose her hand in. She spun a lock in her fingers at the back of his head and inched closer to him, "You know, I never properly thanked you for that." Confusion bled in his eyes when he opened them.
Sam was directly front of him, her brown eyes staring intensely into his with desire. His pupils dilated as he tried to pull away but Sam's grip on his chin and hair held tight. Their noses almost touched, and Sam slowly began moving in to capture his lips with hers. Carmine was slightly panicking inside, he didn't know what to say or what to do. Against his brain's wishes he started slowly moving in as well.
'We can't do this again man what are you DOING. She's with Baird!' Clay's thoughts screamed at him in protest. Sam on the other hand couldn't believe the slow and steady approach was working, 'I have to control myself here, we have to let him come to us. He has to realize what's happening. Don't maul him!' Sam began shutting her eyes, their lips now inches apart, 'Yes!! Come to momma.' Sam thought, her heart racing. All Carmine could hear was the drum that his heart had become, booming in his ears. Until he heard something else, or more accurately someone else, "Ah that banshee probably dragged him away so she can-"
Carmine's eyes widened and he shot away from her to his original position. Sam was extremely confused until the doors to the bar slammed open and a large quantity of gears including Baird and Cole walked in. "Did you hear them?" Sam asked Carmine, his face now cherry red with embarrassment as he gave a small nod. "I knew you had good hearing but damn." Sam smiled, "Aww what's the matter Clay, afraid of gettin caught kissing a girl?"
Carmine's blush deepened, "I'm not afraid of anything."
Sam laughed at him, she'd seen him kill three grenadier elites at once bare handed. She had no doubt he was telling the truth, but then again here he was, embarrassed at almost getting caught by their friends. Carmine's face returned to a normal color once she started laughing, even laughing a bit of his own once he realized she was messing with him.
Cole and Baird wandered over to them, "See man I told you they was gonna be here. Always the resourceful one Sam." Cole said as he lightly clapped her on the shoulder, "Damn Carmine, haven't seen you without that helmet on in a loooooong time, lookin good my man."
'Ughhhh, Cole you oaf, I was this close to a kiss. A kiss where he would've made the first move.' Sam thought, her face slightly showing her annoyance. "Thanks Cole, you know all ya had to do was ask if you wanted to see my face." 'Never thought I'd be thankful for my time in the hollow.' Sam shot him a dirty look, "What?"
"All he'd have to do was ask? Then why'd you give me such a hard time you fucker."
"You know I can't resist giving you a hard time." Carmine shot back with a discrete wink.
Sam paused, if he didn't give her a hard time the topic of giving her a massage wouldn't have come up. "Ha, fair enough Clayton." Carmine smiled, "Did we interrupt anything? I'd hate to be that guy." Cole said as Baird sighed, "Probably the part where she was about to confe-" Sam stomped on Baird's foot before he could finish, a blush rising to her cheeks. "Ah damn! What the hell was that for." Baird said holding onto Carmine's shoulder for support while he hobbled on one foot.
"One more word blondie and there will be more below the belt injuries." Sam threatened causing a hearty laugh to be shared between Cole and Carmine. 'I did miss all of us together. Delta 2 back again for the end of the war.' Carmine smiled thinking back to previous missions they'd all gone on. As if reading his mind Cole shot out, "Just like the old days baby, Carmine, Baird, Sam, and the Cole Train sharing company baby, Delta 2!" Cole held his fist out to Baird for fist bump but Baird just sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Carmine happily bumped him, both making an explosion noise upon contact.
Baird and Cole took their seats at the bar next to Carmine. Carmine reached behind the counter and felt around luckily finding four shot glasses. He then snagged the bottle of vodka by Sam and poured a shot for each of them. "A toast. To the gears we left behind, my brothers, Dom, countless others. And to family!" Clay shouted, catching the attention of not just his fellow squad mates but the rest of the drinking gears in the bar. He looked to Sam and they shared a smile.
He knew how close her and Dom were, Sam mentioned Dom saying he saw a lot of his daughter in her. He knew how rough it was when she lost her father, and when news of Dom's death hit his ears he thought it would be just as rough. It probably was but she was never one to sit down and cry about things. Carmine would always be there for her if she needed him. Just like so many times before.
The crowd of gears along with Delta cheered and drank. The crew drank their shots with mixed results, Baird and Sam grimaced at the strength of the vodka, Carmine drank it like it was the only bit of water left on the planet, and Cole, well Cole had a bit more of a violent reaction than most, "GOD DAAAAMN, what the hell they make this stuff with. Shit this is why I'm more of a bourbon man myself, I need more flavor than this doctors office smellin shit!" Cole yelled out followed by a coughing fit, causing an eruption of laughter among the crew.
After everyone started to calm down, Carmine's hand unconsciously dropped below the bar counter to his lap. Sam looked at him and nudged her knee against his forearm turning to face him. "To new beginnings." She said to him, having refilled their shot glasses, and held her shot out to him. He turned to her, his knee going in between both her legs.
Carmine's hand reached and grabbed his shot from the bar, his other arm leaning against the counter, "To paying debts." He said back to her with a less than discrete wink, clinking his glass to hers. Both downing their shots. Both turning back to the counter. "How are you holding up? I heard about Dom."
Sam turned her head to him, "It was rough, shit it still is. But I know that he wouldn't have wanted us sulking about, you included big guy. Thanks for checking up on me Clay." She replied as she looked into his steel eyes. Besides his good looks that's what Sam missed the most about his face, the little facial expressions you could never see with his helmet on, especially the look of concern for her in his eyes, "I'm always here if you need me Sam, good to know you're staying strong." Carmine shot her a smile, his eyes could melt ice with the way he was looking at her, 'Carmine you handsome devil, I missed those eyes.'
"How about you Clay?" His smile disappeared, "I'm not sure. With the grubs gone I don't really have a purpose anymore. It was the only thing I was good at. That and probably being the last Carmine on Sera are taking a toll on me." Carmine's expression was blank as his left hand tightened around his shot glass. Sam reached her right hand over and placed it on his fisted hand, "I know how hard it is to lose family. But you still have us Clay, and you have the rest of your life to change being the last Carmine. Although I doubt you're the last with how many kids you said your cousins had. You Carmine's breed like rabbits."
The two shared a laugh, Carmine unclenched his fist and held Sam's small hand in his, "Thank you, for everything Sam. I probably wouldn't have made it out of the hollows if you didn't drag me. So thank you."
"Ah who are you kidding, even with those hooks stuck in ya, you were prepared to take on the whole grub army. You killed a lot of those bastards."
"Yeah but who stitched me up afterward, made it so I could get back out there as soon as possible? You."
"Alright alright, enough stroking my ego mate. Your welcome Clayton." The two shared a smile.
Sam couldn't express her disappointment when Carmine released her hand. He grabbed the bottle of vodka and poured himself another shot, offering to refill her shot as well. She decline with a sour look and a shake of the head which Carmine chuckled at. He knocked back another shot and settled into his seat.
Carmine, with newfound confidence slipped his gauntlet off and reached his left hand under the counter and began lightly rubbing Sam's right knee and lower thigh. In her surprise she gasped lightly, enjoying his kneading of her muscles, "Full body remember. No cheaping out on me Carm." Sam let out a small moan, she was surprised with how gentle he was, 'Alright, much better than holding his hand.'
"Just giving you a little sample for later." Carmine shot back, turning his head and showing his teeth to her, causing a blush to rise to her cheeks. Carmine was pretty oblivious of the effects he had on women, boozed up Carmine on the other hand knew how to push buttons. Sam's blush deepened as his hand dug deeper into the muscle of her lower thigh. Sam couldn't stop the moan that came out of her, 'Oh god I hope he didn't hear that.'
Sam looked over to him and met his amused grey eyes and matching smirk, he definitely heard and it only encouraged him. "Never thought I'd hear that sound again." Carmine teased her, she didn't break eye contact, 'So that's how you wanna play it huh big guy.' A smirk found its way to her face and she leaned toward him, "Can you go harder Clayton?" Her smug expression was quickly wiped from her face as Carmine's hand went farther up and began kneading his fingers in the softer flesh of her inner thigh. Even with her combat pants on, Carmine's hand made it feel as if there were nothing in the way.
Sam couldn't suppress a moan that rumbled in her chest and out her mouth, her eyes closing slightly, "You're enjoying this aren't you." His smirk grew more wide, and the look in his eyes more confident, "Seems one of us is enjoying it a bit more don't you think Samantha." Her body was on fire, aching for him to touch her more, she was using every ounce of willpower in her to not pounce on him. He could tell by the look on her face that she was struggling to keep her cool, and he loved it.
Carmine noticed Sam had pressed her thighs together, "Hey now, this is a sample, either one thigh or nothin little lady." She broke eye contact and tried to act as normal as possible as his fingers inching further up her thigh, her core responding to the attention she was getting. Clay noticed a strange aroma in the air and momentarily stopped, lightly smelling the air, following the trail back to Sam. 'It seems she is enjoying things a bit too much.' Noticing the lack of movement from his hand Sam began rubbing her thighs together with his hand sandwiched.
Carmine leaned in, "It really seems like one of us is enjoying themselves more than the other." Sam's eyes went wide for a few seconds, 'There's no way he could know...' Sam thought as she stared into his eyes, "What makes you think that Carmine?"
He missed this, making her feel like this. The only other times something like this happened was back during hollow storm, and on the ship, both times it was cut short before anything serious happened. With the alcohol in his system he didn't care if she was with anyone, she was allowing him to do this, 'Fuck, this is so wrong man, Baird is two stools down, it's disgusting, disrespectful. And it feels so right.'
Before Carmine could answer her, Baird began talking to him, "Hey Clay before you get too drunk do you think you could give me a hand with something I found earlier." Clay looked over past Cole to where Baird was sitting and removed his hand to which Sam let out a sigh in relief and frustration, "Sure Baird. You two better not drink all this hooch before I get back." Carmine said motioning to Cole and Sam, "No promises mate. You better bring him back in one piece blondie, he owes me." Sam said, the blush on her face subsiding as she shifted her attention to Baird, "Yeah yeah, it'll be quick. Hey you alright Sam? Seem a bit flustered."
"Yeah Sam is everything alright?" Carmine turned to her with a smug look on his face. He'd won the battle and she knew it, she couldn't compete with Carmine when he was aware of what he was doing to her. "Yeah fine a-alcohol is just more than I'm used to." Baird shrugged and went for the door. Sam shot Carmine a dirty look.
Carmine put his gauntlet back on his left hand discreetly and took a big swig of the vodka, handing it back to Sam but before he could leave Sam grabbed a hold of his wrist and tugged him close, "You've got a lot of unfinished business Clayton, be quick." Carmine smiled and leaned in, "Wouldn't cheat either of us out of a good time."
He leaned in closer and snagged his helmet much to Sam's dismay, "I better not have to go through hell and back to get that off you again." Sam motioned to Carmine's helmet, "No promises mate." Clay shot back causing Sam to smile, "What a beautiful smile." Sam let out a chuckle as Carmine's face went red. Whenever he drank he tended to think out loud. He nervously smiled as he slipped his helmet back on. "Ah, much better."
"For you maybe." He heard Sam grumble, "I'll be back and out of this helmet before you know it." And with that Carmine was off, leaving behind the very lustful woman.
Carmine followed Baird out of the bar, once the doors shut behind them Carmine spoke up, "What do you need my help with."
"I need you to lift something."
"Couldn't you have asked Cole for that?"
"He doesn't need to worry about this, let him have some rest. You're practically a human forklift anyway."
"Something is going on here. Cole can easily lift anything, sure I'm strong but Cole is just as strong."
"Ugh fine, I found an entrance to one of Adam Fenix's labs. He had a few stashed around the hotel according to some records I pulled from one of his computers. This one supposedly was his main lab. You were involved in a few off the record missions during your time in the hollow, I know you can keep quiet about this kind of thing until we know what's in it."
Carmine looked over to Baird and Baird looked at Carmine, "Shit, alright if you think it's that big of a deal, let's get it done." Carmine said, and the pair continued walking.
"You know, Ben looked a lot like you, I haven't really seen your face outside of the COG's database picture of you, but your recruit pictures are pretty identical, obviously now you've got a bit more grizzled veteran to you than before." Baird said causing Carmine to stop walking entirely.
He knew what he was talking about, the COG used cloaked Jack robots to gather and hoard information in their database, including video evidence to confirm gears killed in action. Baird stopped shortly after. "Shit I'm sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way just-" Baird started but Carmine cut him off. "If you want to tell me how he died don't waste your breath, I've seen it more times than I should've. I read his letter, I have his tags."
Carmine's tone grew cold, "I watched their deaths every night to remember what the grubs did to them, what they took from me." He took a few steps toward Baird.
"Do me a favor, don't talk about them. Ever. I know Benjamin looks like me. I know every detail of my brother's faces, the last time I saw them, everything including their deaths are etched into my brain. I rewatched their deaths every fucking night to push myself to slaughter the grubs how they slaughtered my family, and with the grubs gone, I have nothing left to live for. So let's keep going so I can lift whatever I have to, and I can go drown myself in a bottle of whatever I find." Carmine spoke dangerously low.
The war had its effects on everyone but Clayton damn near tortured himself every day and every night reminding himself what the locust did to his family. He broke himself to become a thing the locust would fear, a monster to the monsters. He wasn't angry with Baird, Carmine knew no one could possibly know how he felt, but with the war over, and maybe 5-6 shots worth of mystery vodka running through his system, his intrusive thoughts were getting the better of him.
Baird took one last look at Carmine and nodded his head slipping one last, "I'm sorry Clay." before they kept going. "Don't say sorry, just don't forget why you all call me Grub Killer."
With that, they continued to the lab in silence, Baird felt like shit for bringing up Ben, but he knew trying to talk his way out of it wouldn't end well. Carmine never talked about his brothers openly, Baird only knew what Sam would tell them and from Benjamin having served along side him during hollow storm. He knew Clay would get over it soon, he never usually held grudges against people, let alone fellow Delta members. Unless you pissed him off royally to the point he considered you no better than the grubs, he'd forgive you.
Once they reached the lab Carmine was confused, "Well this is her." Baird said patting the large bookshelf, they were in Adam Fenix's personal office. "Baird that's a bookshelf, you sure you need me to lift it? Can't you just scooby doo it open?" Carmine said scratching the back of his helmet, his mood evened itself back out. Baird took a moment to think, staring into the bookshelf. Carmine slightly stumbled, resting a hand on the wall behind Baird. "It's bolted to the floor that's why I need you. What the hell does that mean Carmine? Carmine? You alright big guy?" Baird said turning to look at him.
"The vodka, not eating for a day, and blood loss aren't a great combo if you're trying to stay sober. I'll get this shit moved then let's get the fuck back to the bar." Carmine said, he could usually hold his liquor very well, but the mixture of blood loss and having not eaten for a entire day were speeding up his intoxication. That and the fact he had no idea how much vodka he drank when he took his swig wasn't helping either, "Fuck, had to be about 3 or so shots worth right? I had the three at the bar. So about 5 or 6. Shit, we're drunk"
"Alright, well before you drink any more we have to get you some food big guy, don't want you getting alcohol poisoning." Baird said with a laugh which caused Clay to chuckle a bit realizing he was thinking out loud. He got into position to move the massive object. With almost no effort Clay wrenched the massive bookshelf free and placed it to his right. In the bookshelf's place laid a door with a locked electronically protected door.
"Damn! It's locked, it might take me days to hack into a system like thi-" Baird stopped mid sentence when Clay came over and booted the steel door open, "Open Sesame." Clay gestured with his hand for Baird to go in first. "Well I suppose brute strength wins again."
Clay snorted, walking in behind Baird, tripping on the busted doorframe and knocking slightly into Baird, getting a laugh out of the blonde. The room was full of high tech machinery, notes, and books. It was twice the size of the office they came from. "Ha jackpot, thanks Carmine. You can head back if you want, just remember to eat." Baird said as he went over to a computer and began typing away.
As Carmine was about to leave he notice a faint blue glowing from one of the tables in the lab. As he walked toward it he overheard snippets of Baird whispering to himself his growing drunkness was interfering slightly with his senses, "Operation: New Sera...possible teleportation...new dimension?...cube...blue orb."
Carmine reached the table and picked up the source of the glowing. A small metal cube on a bit of wood, Carmine picked up the wood and slid the cube into his right palm, but once it was in the center of his gauntlet, it was no longer glowing. "Hey Baird I think I found something." Carmine said stumbling slightly causing him to fully grasp the cube as to not drop it.
His gauntlets are fingerless, so as his hand curled around the cube his bare fingers gently touched the cube. It popped open. A blue glowing orb was in the center pulsating violently. "Shit Carmine if it's a cube don't touch it with your bare hands!" Baird yelled out.
It was too late, Carmine was completely entranced by the blue orb and poked it with one of his bare fingertips. In an instant the orb expanded, surrounding Carmine completely, leaving him paralyzed. "Dammit Carmine what did I say!"
"Fuck Baird maybe be a little faster next time, get me out of this thing." Baird scrambled around looking at some notes and then to a computer screen, "Baird it's starting to burn!"
"I'm trying I'm trying, wait what do you mean burn?"
Baird was frantically looking through notes with no luck. "Baird it's starting to burn like a fucking flame grenadier is roasting me with a scorcher!" Baird looked toward his friend.
"Carmine I-I can't do anything."
"What!?"
"When the cube touches a person it links to them, I can't stop it."
Carmine began yelling in pain as the burning became much more intense. Baird watched in horror. He knew it had to be extremely painful. The orb's brightness grew drastically as a large shockwave was emitted, pushing Baird to the floor. That last thing he heard was Carmine letting out a pained roar. Then silence.
Baird looked up to where he last saw Carmine, but all that was left was a cube and papers floating down to the floor. "CARMINE, Carmine...Ohhhhh fuck...Sam is going to kill me."
And that's chapter 2, a bit lengthy but I hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will be following Carmine as he's dropped into the mass effect universe. I'm going to start with the mission finding Garrus in Mass Effect 2 and transition from there. From here on there's going to be gore present in most chapters so be warned. Also I have changed a couple lore things to fit Carmine's character better. Just my own adaptation not actual game lore.