Genre: Angst, fluff, romance

Prompt: -

Synopsis: You thought when you and Archer finally fled to Mexico that you could finally find your happy ending, but his ex-partner is still haunting your thoughts. Does he love her? Does he regret choosing to bring you instead of her? He's been so preoccupied with work that he fails to notice your distress. When it's finally brought to his attention, he is determined to find out what is bothering you and put an end to it once and for all.

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In every relationship, there is doubt and jealousy. Even the strongest relationships encounter these problems. It doesn't matter how much you trust and love your partner, the worry and the fear that they are cheating on you is still there.

You can lie and say that you've never, not once, felt jealous.

You can lie and say that you've never – not even once – worried that your significant other was seeing someone else behind your back.

It's a side-effect of the drug called love. And the stronger the love, the deeper the worry. You love them so much that you fear the thought of losing them. The thought of losing them to someone else boils in the back of your mind like a hungry fly buzzing around food.

Most people ignore the feeling and have faith in their partner while others act on it and fly into a jealous rage of accusations. How could they not? Seeing someone flirting and touching their girlfriend or boyfriend or husband or wife. What if they see something in that person? What if they leave?

More often than not, the accusations are false.

If you ignore it, the relationship stays the same, but guilt still pools in your stomach.

If you act on it, the relationship will, nine times out of ten, end or, at the very least, become tense and awkward.

But what alerts us to an unfaithful partner?

Sneaking around and acting secretive?

Staying late at work when he/she doesn't have to?

Mysterious phone calls, texts or letters?

Smelling of a scent not belonging to yourself?

Or is it something else? Maybe all of the above? What if it's something innocent disguised as something bad, something treacherous?

What if he/she is planning something special?

What if he/she is just trying to get a raise or promotion?

What if he/she is arranging a surprise for you?

What if he/she was searching for a cologne or perfume for you?

The only proof that someone is cheating is to catch them in the act. You can't believe an outside party. You can't jump to conclusions and go around accusing your partner or stressing out over it. But, it's impossible to do that. We say we can, but that's a lie. It's hardwired into our DNA to feel that way.

So, let me ask you this:

Do you trust him?

Our Trust has been breached.

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You never agreed with the choices Archer had made. You didn't agree with what he was doing, either, but the love you felt for him was so deep that you went along with his plans. Even though he rarely said it, you knew that he loved you. 

At first, that made you happy, but... you couldn't deny that you were jealous and often found yourself worrying about if Archer would leave you for another. He could easily find better and had not a single reason to stay with a filthy, weak human like yourself.

The undying source of your jealousy? 

Madison Jones, Archer's ex-partner. You never failed to notice the way he treated her whenever they worked together, the way he looked at her and spoke to her and the way she literally kissed the ground he walked on. Right to the very end, she was treated like a special pet to Archer. You hated it but you bit your tongue and believed that once you were safe in Mexico, Madison would simply be a thing of the past.

You had been wrong.

Archer might not have known it, or maybe he did and just didn't care, but you knew that he watched Madison in that damned monitoring room of his. You had walked in on him to see her on the screen and that damned smile reserved just for her. 

His brown eyes had followed every movement she made. Did he really love Madison and not you? Had you mistaken his actions for ones of love when they were really nothing more than friendly gestures? Were you just a toy for Archer? A cheap replacement? Was Madison his true love?

You felt yourself grow dizzy at the swirling questions in your brain. You wanted answers but you were too afraid to ask them. It wasn't because he could and probably would kill you – no, you were afraid that your worries would push him farther away. 

You were afraid of his answer.

If you didn't have Archer, who did you have? No one. No one welcomes back a traitor.

Greg, Archer's second in command, cocked his head to the side as he called out your name.

You snapped out of your thoughts, moving your gaze from the floor to the tall male. "Oh, Greg! Hi!"

He frowned. "Are ya okay? Ya look kinda out of it."

"Oh, I'm fine." You waved him off with a fake smile.

Greg could see through your act, though. For a while now, you had been acting strangely and he was beginning to get worried. You would never admit to anything being wrong, though, and you were a damn good actor, hiding what you felt behind a mask of fake smiles.

He knew what he had to do. If you wouldn't respond to him, then maybe Archer could do the trick.

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Archer looked up from his cup of tea as Gin entered the meeting room, his usual smirk nowhere in sight. "Something I can help you with, Greg?"

"It's 'bout your girlfriend."

Archer narrowed his eyes at the younger male. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" He repeated, arching a brow.

"Been actin' strange." Greg furrowed his brows. "Zonin' out a lot more than usual, forcin' smiles. Seems real worried 'bout somethin'."

"She hasn't been eating or sleeping properly, either," said Kanta as he entered the room, having overheard part of the conversation. The two men turned their attention toward him.

"Ya noticed it, too?"

Kanta simply nodded in reply, brown curls bouncing with the movement.

Archer was not happy. He had been so busy with his plans that he hadn't noticed a change in you. Normally when you had a problem, you'd always come and talk to him about it no matter what it was. What was different now?

He stood up, walking past the two men and exiting the room. Right about now, you should be in the bedroom that you shared, reading one of the many manga books that you had brought with you to Mexico.

He was right, in a sense.

You were in the bedroom, but you weren't reading. Instead, you were sitting on the side of the bed, leaning over so your arms were resting on your knees. You were staring blankly at the wall across from you, but it was obvious from the glazed over look in your eyes that you weren't actually seeing it.

How could he have let you get this bad?

Archer walked farther into the room but you didn't notice him; at least not until he stopped in front of you. Your eyes widened as you were brought back from your thoughts, head snapping up. You swallowed nervously and put on a fake smile.

"Arch! Something wrong? You're usually still working this time of day..."

Archer's stoic face did not change as he examined his love. You looked pale and thin like you hadn't been eating enough. It was faint, but he could also see the dark circles under your eyes, indicating that you hadn't been sleeping properly.

He narrowed his eyes, racking his brain for a reason. Were the newer grunts giving you trouble? No, none of them were dumb enough to do that. Well, except for maybe Nathan and Griffin. Were you unhappy in Mexico? Did you want to return to the States? Or was it something else entirely?

You blinked up at him, confused by his actions. "Arc – "

"What's the matter?"

"Eh? Nothing."

Archer reached out a hand, his fingertips brushing your cheek. "Don't lie to me. You're pale. Kanta and Greg have informed me that you have not been eating or sleeping like you should. Is that true?"

"I've always been pale," you laughed, ignoring the nervous feeling swirling in the back of your mind. "No offense, but Greg isn't exactly the best cook and I'm not too fond of the food here, you know how picky I am." 

Not a complete lie. Greg couldn't cook to save his life. 

"As for the sleep thing, I just haven't really been tired." You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly, gaze leaving his face and focusing on the white pants he wore.

There was no reason to be so nervous, you were an excellent liar, but would Archer have the power to see through those lies?

"Are you unhappy here?" His voice softened and his eyes followed suit. "Do you want to return to the States?"

Your eyes widened and your hands clutched tightly onto the fabric of your pants. Is that what he thought? Would he send you back and be done with you?

You lowered your head, allowing a shadow to form over your eyes. When you finally found your voice, it was barely above a whisper. "No, I... I'm not unhappy being here. I do miss the States, but... I want to stay here... with you..."

Archer kneeled down, grabbing your chin between his thumb and index, forcing you to look at him. "What's making you so unhappy, querida?"

Your heart skipped a beat when that deep velvet voice called you that. You didn't want to lose him – you couldn't! You shook your head, pulling away from him and closing your eyes.

Archer was shocked; you had never pulled away from him before. He called your name this time, but you just shook your head, eyes shut tightly.

With a sigh, he pushed you back onto the bed, one hand beside your head while the other rested on your wrist. He leaned down, warm breath fanning over your neck as he spoke your name again.

Your eyes stared up at the ceiling. You felt yourself submitting to his will. You just couldn't deny him, no matter how hard you tried. "I... I'm afraid," you whispered.

"Afraid? Of what, querida?" Hearing that word used to make your heart soar, but now it just hurt.

"Of losing you..."

"Losing me?" He pulled back, his brown eyes staring down into your own.

You had to look away from his piercing gaze. "Can I ask you something, Archer?"

"Of course."

"Do you love Madison?"

Archer blinked down at you, brow furrowing in confusion. That was the last question he expected to hear. "Why would you think something like that?"

"Back in the States, you'd always look at her so lovingly and send her such a loving smile that no one else ever received. You've never looked at me like that. I didn't expect you to, but it hurt to see her get all of your attention and affection. I'm not clingy, and I'm usually not jealous, I just... I wish I knew what she has that I don't..."

He wasn't expecting that, either. "Madison Jones is no longer in my life. You know I only acted that way to gain her trust."

"I saw you in the monitoring room watching her the other day!" you snapped, finally meeting his gaze as you released the breath that you had been holding. "You were smiling that special smile!"

Realization flashed through his eyes and his lips twitched up into a smile. "And how long did you stay and watch me?"

"I saw her on the screen, I saw your smile and I booked it."

"I see. If you had stayed a little bit longer, you would have seen me watching..." he paused, leaning down again so that his lips brushed against your ear. "...you."

"What?"

"The footage I was watching at the time was when you and Madison spent the day together to give me, Greg, and Kanta some time alone. I was not watching her, I was watching you."

"S-Seriously?" you whispered, feeling several different emotions sprouting within you.

His hand slid away from your wrist, moving up so he could gently trace your bottom lip with his thumb. "Fool," he whispered, letting his lips brush yours. "I'm too intoxicated by you to want anyone else." He slammed his lips against yours as his body pushed you into the bed.

You could feel it in the kiss. It was so strong that he didn't even need to voice it and you didn't need to hear it. Feeling overwhelmed, your arms wrapped tight around his neck as Archer's kiss slowly melted away all of your worries.