#scienceandstrex

Diego slams his fists against the wall, his body trembling and throbbing from a mixture of physical and mental pain. His knuckles slam against the wallpaper, over and over again. The yellow paint slowly starts to turn orange, Diego's blood smearing across its surface with every blow.

He only stops when his arms feel too heavy to lift up anymore. He's panting heavily, glaring at the wall as if it was the cause of all of his problems. Furiously he draws Janine from her holster and he aims, firing pointblank into the wall until Janine is clicking, telling him that she has nothing left to give for him.

With a snarl he spins around and hurls Janine away from him. He can feel his eyes start to burn and he clutches the sides of his head, fingers digging into his scalp. He barely feels it when he presses his back up against the bloody wall, his legs giving out from under him, leaving him sitting on the ground, his knees brought up and his forehead resting against them. His fingers are still tangled in his hair, palms pressed against his ears.

Diego is still crying into his knees when the door finally opens. He doesn't look up at the sound of polished shoes clicking softly on the ground, coming towards him. Nor does he react when someone takes a firm but gentle hold of his wrist, pulling one hand out of his hair to look at the damage he had done to his knuckles.

“Diego, what have you done?”

“Leave me 'lone, Sergio...” he croaked, feebly trying to pull his wrist out of the other's grip. He scowled when Sergio did not release him, lowering his other hand to glare at him, curling his upper lip back to show off sharp teeth to try and look threatening, despite his weakened state. “Fuck...off!”

“We need to make sure these do not get infected,” Sergio sighed, easily avoiding the slap aimed at his face, taking a hold of Diego's other wrist and pulling gently to force him up onto his feet. He cocked one slender eyebrow when he noticed the empty holster and asked, “where is Janine?”

“...Threw her somewhere,” Diego muttered, avoiding the other's gaze.

“We'll make sure any damage done is fixed before she is returned,” he promised. He kept his face expressionless when Diego suddenly crumpled against him, burying his face in his chest with a choked sob. Letting go of his wrists, Sergio held Diego in a loose hug, rubbing his back in slow small circles. “...Do you wish to talk about it?”

“Fuck, no!” Diego sobbed.

“Okay,” Sergio said with a nod. He fell silent then, keeping still for Diego as long as he needed it. He waited when Diego finally pulled away from him, rubbing furiously at his eyes to rid himself of any lingering tears.