Two sides of the same coin - Armando Aretas x OC

Playing dress up

Armando adjusted his suit jacket, his gaze scanned the opulent venue. Rita stood beside him, as Marcus and Mike walked towards them handing them glasses, toasting.

Among the sea of guests, he spotted Inessa talking to Kelly and Rafe. She wore a long black dress that had plunging neckline and was backless, the slit that stopped just below her hip showed off her toned legs.

He thought her dress contrasted with the usual tactical gear he saw her in, but in a good way. He thought how it was hard to be mad at her when he looked at her, but then every time they spoke it left them worse than how they began.

Marcus approached Armando, "You okay kid?" he asked, bringing back Armando's attention.

Armando sighed, "I'm fine Marcus", his eyes never leaving Inessa. "Oh come one, you can tell uncle Marcus."

"I just... I dont know man," he sighed. Marcus nodded, "I get it man, It's tough, Inessa is stubborn".

Armando gave him a look, confused by how he knew what he was thinking about. "Take it from me, being partnered up with someone as equally stubborn, you two will come around".

Meanwhile, across the room, Mike approached Inessa, his expression serious yet sympathetic. "Hey," he began, "how are you holding up?"

Inessa met his gaze, her features composed despite the turmoil within. "I'm fine, Mike," she replied.

Mike studied her for a moment, "We should talk about what's concerning you," he said softly.

Inessa nodded, her jaw tightening. "I know," she said, her voice tinged with regret. "I made a call, and I stand by it. But I understand that I jeopardised the team's trust".

"We're a team, Inessa," Mike interjected firmly. "We have to trust each other's judgment, but that means you need to trust that we can get the bad guys and put them away. If we all do things out of revenge, then what separates us from them."

Inessa just nodded at Mike, she understood everyone's point, she just didn't know how to mend the situation. She didn't regret what she did, just all the issues that it caused afterwards, the position she put her team in.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the governor, diverting their attention back to the gala. Inessa and Mike exchanged a brief nod of understanding before making their way to their seats.

As the night wore on, tensions simmered between Inessa and Armando, they seemed to be fine with everyone but each other, not addressing the problem head on. The gala served as a pause on their argument, but they would have to go back to normality at some point.