Tell Me You Love Me ~ Redcrackle

1. Return to Sydney

~I head-canon Carmen's birth name was Elena Valdéz~

..

Carmen Sandiego dreaded returning to Australia for years. Her best friend had died, by her own hand no less, and he had lived there.

The guilt and the angst, coupled with a wish for more, so much more with him had crashed upon her like a tsunami, pushing her away from his home land and at the same time compelling her to come back

3 years later now, on the exact anniversary of the last time she had last seen Gray had finally been enough.

"Please Come back."

And here she was. On a plane flying into Sydney Airport, the pilot's thick Australian accent reminding her so much of his.

Gray was dead. But there was so much she didn't know about him. So much she wanted to know. Carmen had returned to his city of birth for answers, praying to find someone who had loved him just as much as she had to help her finally accept his death.

So here she was.

"Mija, be careful alright?" Her mother's worried cadence came over the phone, a Spanish accent strong on her underused English.

It had been so long since Carmen had uttered a word in English. She had cut off contact with everyone from her previous life aside from player, yet even their messages were growing less frequent due to the fact that the former thief lived like a civilian now. Already being fluent in Spanish due to her various tutors from VILE, she had no need of the language and communicated with the locals of Argentina freely, easily, and happily.

"I'll be fine, mama." The Latina laughed, tugging at the waistband of her favorite red sweatpants. "You don't need to worry about me."

"I know, I know, but it's been so long since you've even left Buenos Aires, much less go on a plane. Are you sure you wouldn't just like to stay home?"

"I'm sure, mama." Carmen answered, feeling herself switch to an accented English so that her mother better understood her. "Don't you have to start school for the orphans now?"

"Oh! That's right!" Her mother said, the sound of her giving a little slap to her forehead echoing over the line. "Call me if you need anything, niña....I-I love you."

Carmen smiled softly. She couldn't imagine still living life having not met her mother. "I love you, too, mama."

..

The former thief stepped off the tarmac of the airplane and entered the terminal, her luggage in hand. It had been 3 years since she had been on a plane, much less navigated the busy hordes habituating the space.

As she communicated with the airport personnel to further coordinate her trip, she spoke in English again. A tiny lilt of a Latin accent had developed on her words, and it was as if she was re-working the leather of a hardened pair of boots left too long in the sun.

It was a fine day in Sydney, Australia today with the sun shining brightly outside, its light glinting through the window panes and illuminating the marble floors.

She smiled. As much as she loved settling down, there was something so amazing about being able to see the wonders of the world.

Carmen took a quick pit-stop at the bathroom to fix her disheveled appearance from being on the flight. As she met her gray-blue eyes in the mirror, it was hard to believe how much she had changed.

Carmen had cut her hair shorter now, with the ends of her auburn strands brushing her shoulder. It's length was short enough that it was easy to maintain yet also long enough it could be thrown into a little tail at the nape of her neck.

Her face was bare if any makeup, her lips shining pink next to her brown skin apart form her former signature red. She wore a muted red tracksuit with a white Tee underneath, a pair of headphones playing Latin music plugged into her ears. Without the pizazz and extravagance of her former life, she had taken to dressing simpler, though her passion for fashion hadn't disappeared.

After messing with her appearance for a few seconds, she re-emerged to the rest of the world.

Sydney, Gray's history. It was all waiting for her.

...

A/N: hey, this is my first story🥰 Any tips would be well appreciated!