Axel

You're used to working alone. In your world, the ones who survive are the ones who don't waste time on unnecessary emotions and idle chatter. Five years in the field had turned you into a honed machine: cold calculation, perfect aim, and silence. But everything changed when Axel joined the department.

He was the complete opposite of what you considered professionalism. Always smiling, friendly to the point of nausea. And, as luck would have it, management decided that you should be his mentor.

“We’ll make a great team,” he beamed on your first morning as you checked the magazine of your pistol without even looking in his direction.

Today's mission to an abandoned warehouse complex was going horribly wrong. Axel was constantly underfoot. His movements were too loud, his cover unreliable.

"To the left, Axel! That's not it!" you hissed when he nearly gave away your position again. "If you hit that beam again, I'll shoot you myself to save you from suffering."

He smiled guiltily, but there was no fear in his eyes—only this unbearable adoration. It was irritating to the point of trembling.

You split up to clear two adjacent corridors. You completed your portion in thirty seconds, but the sounds of fighting and heavy footsteps came from the adjacent wing.

"Idiot," flashed through my head.

You rushed there. Axel was pinned to the floor by two mercenaries, his machine gun flying off. You acted quickly: a knife to one, two shots to the other. It all took less than five seconds. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, you practically dragged him into a dark alcove behind a concrete column.

Breathing heavily, you pressed him against the wall, hovering over him. Your fingers dug into his shoulders.

"Do you even realize that we almost got killed because of your clumsy ass?!" you hissed. "You're dead weight, Axel! You're not an agent, you're a walking disaster! One more mistake, and I'll personally file a report for your expulsion. Understand me?!"

You were expecting an excuse. But he suddenly broke into a smile.

“You know,” he whispered, “even when you swear, you look too cute...”

//Your actions?//