Chapter Text
Its a late January evening after one of the Six team exercises at Herford, and its a cold and wet English winter outside. The majority of the bases personal is minding their own business or engages in light socializing. Most of the members of the team have already left for the states; Everything is mostly quiet. Who doesn't have to do anything isn't, as a freezing wind is blowing outside.
Over the months working with Rainbow Caveira has memorized all the habits, gym times and extra usual activities of the other operators, and routinely manages to always avoid or slip past any of the other members of Six. And if she doesn't manage to align her own schedule to meet no one, she would try to at least only meet Capitao, who she knows for some years and who is accustomed to her preferences and respected them, or someone like Buck, who pretty much minds his own business at all times and doesn't give two cents about her or her presence.
The more startled she is when she, as usually moving completely silent, crosses the half open door of one of the rooms, only illuminated by the shine of a monitor, and suddenly a voice addresses her from inside.
“Hey, Taina.” An unknown female voice greets her happily. There is a warmth in it that makes it sound like they have know for years. Yet she was no idea who it is. And frankly non of the other members of Rainbow ever address her by her first name, most of them are suspicious of her or outright recent her. Except for Capitao. When they are alone.
Bewildered she stops in her track and turns toward the door to take a look inside. In front if the screen illuminating the vicinity she makes out the shape of a woman. Its the Korean they call 'Dokkaebi'. The Gremlin; They both have been part of today's exercise. Short pigtails looking out from under a gray slouchy. A hooded wool vest over a white tank top and hotpants. Both legs drawn up and folded onto the surface of the chair without shoes or socks. Taina thinks it looks incredibly uncomfortable.
Apparently the Korean is playing some sort of video game on the laptop. Brown and purple blobs of something are moving vividly on the screen, as the woman aggressively hammers the keys and moves the mouse, her arms hugging her drown up leg.
For a moment Taina ponders if she might have hallucinated, as the smaller woman doesn't make any attempt to follow up on the greeting. She turns to move on to, when the voice speaks to her again.
“Don't just stand there, come in.” it demands. The voice is cheerful and Taina can't help but wonder why someone would address her with such lightheartedness. Presumably everyone was at least wary of her. Yet she obeys and enters the room. Hesitantly.
The clicking and moving looks random and aimless, but Taina can discern there is method and a purposeful rhythm to it. About a minute later the word 'Victory' shows on the screen, followed by the woman quickly unfolding her legs and spinning the chair around. She looks at the Brazilian almost expectantly, sizing her up through her fake glasses. Its not hard to determine, for her to be part of Six, her eyesight had to be twenty twenty.
“How could you tell I was outside?” Taina asks awkwardly, she still isn't sure what she's even supposed to do here, let alone what the other woman thought to achieve by asking her in.
“I just could. You are not invisible or anything.” she gives a non-answer and shrugs.
“You were facing the other direction, and no one ever hears me coming.” Taina replies slightly irritated by her answer. No one ever does.
“I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.” the smaller woman replies and a wide smile appears on her face. There is something about it makes Taina completely uneasy, but she doesn't know why. Usually people are afraid of her.
“I don't think we have been introduced. I mean personally. I'm Grace.” the other woman states nonchalantly and gets up from the chair, prompting Taina to wince at the sudden movement.
“Taina, but you already knew that.” Taina musters an awkward reply, Grace's demeanor takes her entirely by surprise. She has a hard time keeping up her usual cold and detached self because of it. Something about her completely disarms the seasoned interrogator.
Just as she thinks she regained her composure Grace closes the distance between them, completely invading the Brazilian's person space in the process, and squeezes her in a hug that makes her uncomfortable in a was she didn't think was possible. Actually it reminds her of someone, but she doesn't want to go there.
“Nice to meet you!” Grace lets go of her, smiles again, and throws herself onto the bed. “What are you doing on a depressing evening like that?”
“I was just about to grab a beer from the mess.” Taina replies truthfully. She doesn't really know why. She supposes she is still gathering herself. Although she would rather figure out how to wind herself out of this.
“Mind if I join you?” Grace asks quickly. Her tone anticipates Taina's answer.
“I rather you--” She still tries to decline, but the Korean doesn't let her finish.
“That's cool too. You stay here, I'll get the beer.” she states definitely, and casually dances past the Brazilian, who doesn't fully understand what just happened. The thought if simply leaving doesn't even cross her mind.
About five minutes later they are sitting on the bed. Grace who is comfortably resting against the wall behind them, eyes her new friend intensively. Taina is sitting up, legs folded under her. She still looks like she's about to run. The thought of actually giving some bullshit excuse and making a beeline for the door wasn't beyond her.
“You are not that scary.” Grace states bluntly and out of context after a few minutes of awkward silence. Taina almost spills her drink through her nose, but quickly recovers, inflating her cheeks as her mouth fills with beer again.
“Excuse me.” She replies and tries to come off as affronted as possibly, although she knows how she appears to most people.
“Everyone seems to think you are some kind of inhuman monster. I think you aren't so bad.” Grace clarifies almost unnecessarily. “I had to see for myself though.”
Taina has no idea where she is going with this, but suddenly feels defensive.
“You don't know me. The things I did.” She replies insinuatingly. Something tells her to convince the Korean she's as bad as everyone thinks. The term 'antisocial personality disorder' crosses her mind.
“You are doing a bang-up job winning me over.” Grace chuckles and playfully slaps Taina's knee for emphasis.
“I have seen the tapes.” she adds, a serious expression on her face. “I think Bandit is worse.”
The statement is probably well-intentioned, but changes nothing.
“But it is different. I don't feel remorse.” Taina almost pleads for the Korean to also be wary and detest her. She doesn't know why it's so important to her for her to reject her too. After all they are practically strangers still.
“If you tell yourself long enough you probably believe it.” Grace replies and takes another sip from her bottle. She's not that far off the truth, but doesn't know it.
Taina thinks about more arguments, but concludes, if the other woman saw the tapes, and still doesn't believe her, there is no point in arguing at all. She still thinks Grace is a stubborn fool for doing so. She humphs and a takes a sip from her bottle too.
A few minutes pass without either of them saying something. Although Taina can see that it's somewhat of a struggle for the Korean. Apparently she wants her to say something next. The Brazilian thinks for a moment, then speaks.
“How can you even play these games?” It comes off like an insult.
“I don't know what you mean.” Grace replies, raising an eyebrow. She obviously knows what the other woman is getting at. She has heard all the arguments before.
“You know. You are a grownup woman, playing video games and dressing like you are in high school.” Taina clarifies. Now that she said it, it sounds more judgmental than she had intended. She almost regrets it and kind off feels sorry for saying it. Which is odd, hadn't she tried to figure something out that would eventually push away the other woman.
“Oh no, lo and behold I spend my time doing something that brings me joy, instead of adhering to some arbitrary, preconceived notion of maturity. Would you rather I'd sit around watching soap operas or reality shows getting drunk on red wine? I read Dostoyevsky yesterday if that's some consolation to you.” the smaller woman retorts. Her voice is filled with outrage and for a moment it seems like she's really hurt by the question. She wiggles her nose defiantly. Taina for some reason thinks its cute, it definitely reminds her of someone. She again pushes away the thought.
“And so you know, my clothes are very comfortable.” Grace adds less hostile, but still sharply. Only a moment later her tension eases again.
“Also, I had to kill some time, while my script is probing that server I'm currently.... checking for security flaws.” she appends cheerfully again, making air quotes, and smiles impishly. Taina wonders if these are mood swings or if she fakes being angry to begin with.
“Am I an accessory to a crime right now?” Taina inquires raising an eyebrow. She doesn't really think so, but on the other hand can't rule out the possibility. The other woman sort of radiates mischief. An irritating trait for a member of Six.
“No. What would make you think that?” Grace replies, pointedly placing her hand on her chest, feigning indignation at the suggestion. Apparently she already has forgotten their small altercation. Or is over it anyway.
“Anyways.” Taina surrenders after a few seconds. “I think 'll be on my way again.
Grace looks like she's about to object, but hums in disappointment and nods instead.
“See you around.” she calls after the Brazilian as she leaves. To Taina it sounds like a threat.
“Is there something I can do for you?” Taina pauses striking the punching back for a moment, and shoots the woman sitting on the windowsill next to her a questioning look.
“Not particularly, no.” Grace replies with one of those infuriatingly friendly smiles on her face. Her legs are dangling close above the ground playfully, as she plays one of her games on her tablet.
“Why are you here then?” Taina asks annoyed and braces her hands against her hips. The question is rhetorical really.
“It's a public room, and you have to come her some time. So I figured I'd meet you here.” she shrugs.
Much to Taina's dismay, somehow the annoyingly cheerful woman has found a way to attend any and all of her everyday activities whenever they are at the base together. Suddenly catching up to her on her morning runs; Hanging around the gym when ever she manages to shove in her usual alone time; And even miraculously showing up when she silently sits down over dinner at one of the tables in the mess. It is wearing her down.
“I'm not in the mood for talking.” she tries to reason with the Korean again. It's a futile attempt.
“So you say. Every time.” Grace replies unfazed and shrugs again. She doesn't seem to have any intentions to cease following her around any time soon.
Taina blinks owlishly, then grunts and proceeds with beating up the dummy.
“Tell you what; If you get me to tap out I'll leave you alone” Grace suggests out of the blue, casually nodding her head towards the large mat in the middle of the gym. “If I win, you stop avoiding me, and talk to me when I want, or at least from time to time.” she adds almost portentously.
A glint flashes in Taina's eyes. She is taller than the other woman and has easily ten kilos on her. She thinks she's probably also proficient in some martial art, but still deems her an easy target. Hand-to-hand combat is one of her specialties after all. She still fakes thinking about it for a moment, then agrees confidently, assuming an easy enough win. And her eventual freedom.
A few minutes later the other woman has changed into gym shorts and a sports bra. She still wears the slouchy though. Their height difference really underscores the size advantage Taina has on her. Albeit also very trained and muscular Grace's frame is a lot more slender then the other woman's. Nevertheless her movements are also more nimble and delicate, as she lightly bounces from one feet to the other while warming up and stretching. Taina notices with a mixture of horror and annoyance she's finds the smaller woman quite attractive. A feeling she wouldn't usually give in to, for some time now.
“You want best of three or something?” Grace asks courteously as they put on the sparing gloves. Taina only waves the suggestion aside. She doesn't want to take any chances. “No backsies!” the Korean adds, shoving her gumshield into her mouth. There suddenly is something about her expression that makes Taina uneasy again. It's something that isn't there, suspense. She looks like she knows she already won.
Their fight lasts less than ninety seconds. At first they trade lukewarm punches and low kicks, before Taina routinely goes for a grapple, which Grace barely fends off, so she thinks. They wrestle for a while, going back and forth with grips and holds, then Taina sees and opening, or what she thinks is one, and goes for it. With a quick jump she throws her weight towards the Korean's side in an attempt to get her into an arm bar, but as their weight shifts while they start to fall towards the ground, Grace somehow is suddenly above her shoulders, pulling Taina's torso towards her, taking her down into a headlock with all her weight. The Brazilian is taken by surprise and barely manages to retract her limbs in a way that will minimize the impact. A blink of an eye later they hit the mat. Grace on her back, the surprised Taina on top of her, her neck entangled by the Korean's arm.
For a brief moment she tries to free her head by punching and kicking what part of Grace's body she gets a hold of. It's no use. With an annoyed grunt she slams down her hand on the mat, prompting the other woman to immediately let go of her. After a few seconds Taina awkwardly rolls her weight of Grace's body. Lying on her back she contemplates what went wrong and the implications of her defeat.
“Guess I win.” Grace announces nonchalantly, as she pulls herself up into a sitting position. Her gloating is barely noticeable. She deliberately tries to hide her excitement.
“I would ask how you did that.” Taina replies sheepishly, and sits up herself.
“But I'd have to kill you.” Grace responds and smiles at her, before quickly getting up and reaching out to pull the Brazilian up too. When they finally both stand again, they are very close to each other. Taina recoils as their faces are only centimeters apart, height difference or not. Grace frowns, but then shrugs lightly to herself, as Taina slips away, mumbling something in Portuguese she can't decipher.
“You tried to grapple with Dokkaebi?” Vincente clearly tries to suppress a laugh.
Taina wouldn't often talk to anyone around Six, but if she needs advice or some kind of comfort she'd usually turn to her the older man she knows for some time and who always accepted her for what she is. She gives him a question look in response, as she has no idea what he's getting at.
“She came in second in the world championship when she was nineteen.” Vincente states before breaking into an amicable laugh. “And then they trained her to be a special forces soldier.” he adds, still laughing. Taina knows he is not laughing at her, she still feels not taken seriously.
“She set me up.” Taina mumbles lividly. But she knows it was her own hubris that earned her the loss.
“You accepted the wager, didn't you?” he teases and winks at her with his good eye.
“Maybe this will be a good thing. You have been even less of a social person since--” he tried to add, but is interrupted.
“I don't want to talk about it.” Taina cuts him off with finality in her voice.
“It's been years. You should talk about it. We both know the psychologist only signed off on you back then, because they practically ordered him to.” Vincente replies, his voice ringing with almost fatherly concern.
“But he did, and that's all that matters.” She almost snaps, quickly gets up and leaves before he can say anything more, leaving him shaking his head. She really doesn't want to talk about it.
“Have you ever tried not brooding?” Grace pipes up. She has been sitting opposite her friend, patiently watching her clean her gun, a task she had insisted had meditative qualities to her. But it also is boring to watch, and Grace can already point out about a docent things she could have done to finish the task faster. Taina doesn't reply and pretends she didn't hear her, only staring at her gun more intensely.
“I mean, with all the face paint and the black clothes; Have you considered joining the bat family? You could be the next Batwoman. She's gay though. Don't know if that's a prerequisite.” Grace states a moment later. Not a single word of that statement makes any sense to the Brazilian. Well, except for one. She looks up slightly bewildered, questioning why Grace would bring that up this casually or how that was a subject she wanted to talk to her about. Almost nobody that didn't know her before knows, and she's fairly sure it isn't in her dozier. Incidentally its also a close second on the lists of things she doesn't want to talk about. Not that she wants to talk to the Korean at all, obviously.
“Why don't you go and annoy your boyfriend for a bit and we see each other for dinner?” she tries to change the subject and get Grace off her case. To her surprise the other woman bites almost immediately.
“My boyfriend?” Grace goes through a few different grimaces as she apparently thinks about the question, completely ignoring the inherent insult. “Oh, you mean Masaru! No, no, no we are just really good friends. I'm currently in between relationships.” she states nonchalantly, but her smile is sheepish and she half averts her eyes.
“Also, he's really into blonds.” she wiggles her eye brows suggestively, and looks at Taina again cheerfully, even though she knows she doesn't care for gossip of any kind.
“Do you have someone special?” she adds, still wiggling her eyebrows. A flash of discomfort passes Taina's face.
“No, I do not.” she replies curtly. It almost sounds rehearsed.
“What's your type?” Grace goes on unwaveringly needling her, while Taina already regrets bringing the subject up at all. “I bet you have lots of admirers.”
“Not exactly. Not that I'm interested in anyway.” Taina adds under her breath, and purses her lips a second later, regretting the slip-up.
“So you have a type.” the Korean states triumphantly, prompting the other woman to sigh heavily.
“You can ask me a single question that is not about or related to this subject and I promise I'll answer truthfully if you drop this subject.” Taina offers almost desperately. She is almost completely worn down by the interrogation. To her surprise Grace accepts quasi immediately, without so much as thinking about it.
“What do you do for fun? And I don't mean like, beating up dummies, polishing your knife collection or the likes. What does Taina Pereira, the private citizen do for fun?” She asks right away, like she was about to do so anyway.
Taina frowns for a bit, contemplating the question, and the chances the Korean would be able to spot a lie. It's been years since she had the kind of fun Grace is referring to.
“I used to dance.” she answers neutrally. The most truthful answer she can think of. Grace is obviously not entirely satisfied with it.
“Like what, ballet?” she inquires. Somehow she can't picture the tall woman in a tutu or other kind of dance dress. Although the thought is kind of funny. Tall, and awe-inspiring, scowling through a lot a makeup... in a pink tutu.
“Mostly Samba, but also Salsa and other Latin dances.” Taina specifies, still very brief.
“But these are all partner dances.” Grace follows up. Taina raises her index finger, reminding her of the terms of her answer. The way her expression darkens while doing so, signals the other woman to not further pursue the matter. She's a bit disappointed by the answer, although she doesn't know what she expected.
Grace takes a moment to chuckle at the mental image of her friend wearing a Brazilian carnival costume, then gets up from her seat opposite to her.
“See you at dinner then.”