Disclaimer: Do not own Black Lagoon
Warnings for murder, unhealthy relationships and trauma
A step too far
Revy stormed up the stairs, ignoring the men around her who had become like older brothers to her, calling after her.
She cared about them, she did.
But she needed to speak with Balalaika now.
She had seen the looks on Boris, Taras, Rudolf, Sergei and Pavel's faces as she went by them.
They knew what this was about, and knew that it wouldn't end well. She'd seen the relief on Matvei's face when he'd seen Revy leave her holsters with her desert eagles down on a shelf next to him and his comrades.
Revy stormed up the stairs, away from Balalaika's men and went right to her office.
She had to make this clear, what her lover-now her former lover, had done.
Former lover now, after what Balalaika did to…
Well, Revy knew that Balalaika had to have seen this coming after she had pulled the trigger.
And had left Rock's body to rot in the harbor, after finding out how chummy Rock had become with Chang.
When Revy got to Balalaika's office, she stormed into the room, slamming the door open, as she glared across the room at the tall, blonde, scarred woman seated behind the desk there.
"You fucking bitch," Revy growled, fists clenching in a practically hard as stone manner.
"Eloquent as always, Rebecca," Balalaika remarked, getting up from her desk and walking around the desk to stand in front of Revy.
Revy stared at the older woman, trying desperately to see a sign of something-anything remotely close to guilt in those icy blue eyes.
But she already knew that she'd see nothing even close to guilt there.
Revy shook her head as she growled out, "You killed him. You fucking killed him."
"I did what was necessary, Rebecca," Balalaika assured the younger woman, lowering the cigar she had been holding down to the ash tray and putting it out, "Rock was getting too dangerous. He was betting too much on other peoples' lives by involving himself with Chang."
"So, none of this was out of jealousy?" Revy asked, a sneer in her voice when she demanded this.
Balalaika stiffened and Revy this time, saw something. Besides the Russian pausing, she saw Balalaika's eyes appear colder than before and appear to narrow.
"That's what I fucking thought," Revy snorted.
Balalaika sighed.
Yes, some of the reasons behind her having Rock killed, had involved jealousy.
As much as Balalaika was loathe to admit that. Revy, Balalaika trusted. Rock, she did not. And Rock had too strong an influence on Revy, before Balalaika had disposed of him.
Perhaps she should have killed him sooner. Perhaps she should have killed him in a way that looked like an accident, so that Revy hadn't realized that it was her lover who had done the killing.
But Balalaika knew that she wouldn't have done it any other way. She wasn't going to lie to her lover.
Lying to Revy was what Rock did. Balalaika would not be the same.
"Yes," Balalaika found herself confessing, "There was some jealousy there. I did not like how he influenced you. How he tried to manipulate you. You might not be able to see it, but I did. I did it somewhat out of jealousy, yes. But not entirely. I was also trying to protect you."
Revy shook her head, staring at Balalaika with an almost disgusted snicker that made Balalaika pause again. She wanted Revy to understand, needed her to.
"Rebecca," she began, but Revy snapped at her.
"Don't call me 'Rebecca,' Balalaika," Revy spat out, "You lost that right when you fucking killed him and left his body to the fish at the harbor."
Balalaika didn't say anything, surprised by this outburst, but for now, she would accommodate Revy's demands.
"Very well," she said, "Revy. He was going to hurt you one day. Hurt not just you, but likely Benny and Dutch, as well."
Revy snorted, her eyes blazing with anger, "You might think you were protecting me from him, but you know, that's bullshit. And who is going to protect me from you?"
Balalaika stared at Revy now, stunned.
What was Revy saying?
Balalaika had known that Revy would be angry about Rock's demise, however, she had assumed that the younger woman would soon at least tolerate what had happened.
She hadn't expected this.
There were footsteps coming from the hallway at Revy's back, and Balalaika looked past Revy at who was approaching.
Boris was there, of course. As were Taras and Matvei.
Revy glanced over her shoulder at the three men approaching.
"Kapitan," Taras asked, "Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fucking fine," Revy growled, "I was just leaving." She sent yet another acidic glare at the Russian woman who had been her lover for almost four years now, "Don't expect me back here, ever again, unless it's for work."
It happened far too fast.
Balalaika always kept herself under control. Outside of those that she was about to kill, and Revy herself, who had seen Balalaika in her most vulnerable and intimate moments, very few saw her not composed.
But Balalaika moved without even thinking, surprising even herself.
She knew that there was nothing to hide. All of her men knew what was between her and Revy.
Still, her actions surprised even herself.
Before Revy could reach the doorway to the office, Balalaika reached her, wrapping her left arm around Revy's middle and wrapping her right arm around Revy's shoulders, pulling Revy to her chest and dragging the younger woman to the desk.
Panic began to rise in Revy's chest. She remembered Rock telling her that Balalaika had killed a man one time this way in a garage in Japan.
Her heart jumped but as she glanced back at Balalaika, she saw no murderous intent there on the blonde's face as Balalaika just looked sternly at the door and said to her men, "Boris, Matvei, Taras, leave. Boris, contact Dutch and tell him that Two Hands is working with me for now, and she will be returned to him after her task is complete.
Boris nodded dutifully and left.
Matvei and Taras both appeared relieved.
Taras, before he and Matvei left, looked back at Revy, smiling and said, "It will be alright, mladshaya sestra."
Revy glared at Taras's back as he left. She knew what that phrase that Taras had just used meant. He and the other men had called her that before.
She had looked up the meaning on Benny's computer. Apparently, it meant "little sister" in Russian.
There was a time when realizing that that was what she was called by Balalaika's men had caused nothing but surprise and actual warmth in her.
And she hated that she still felt that warmth now.
Balalaika carried Revy back to her desk, sitting down on the chair and keeping Revy on her lap, holding the young gunslinger close.
Revy squirmed and struggled, though she knew that there was no damn chance that she'd be able to get out of Balalaika's grasp.
"Let me go," she snapped, struggling with futile attempts to escape.
"No," Balalaika answered quietly, holding her lover tight, pressing her face into Revy's hair and breathing in the young woman's scent.
Revy struggled again, but slowly felt herself becoming laxed. It would do no good and they both knew it. Revy would not be able to get out of Balalaika's grasp, unless Balalaika decided to open her arms and let Revy go.
And both Revy and Balalaika knew that that was just not going to happen anytime soon.
Balalaika rested her head against Revy, still breathing in the smaller woman's scent.
She knew that Revy might not be able to forgive her now. And probably not soon.
But one day, she was sure that Revy would come to forgive her.