V's press of the button and flick of the wrist so that the blade slid back was habit and smooth as the knife found itself back in one of the pockets of V's jacket, hidden away somewhere safe. It wasn't lost on V that the knife had only ever been used to hurt him but he didn't let his mind linger on it. He focused, instead, on the roughness of Alec's fingers brushing over his skin before it was covered, gritting his teeth with each application of pressure. Even as out of practice as he was in dealing with pain he took it well - no bitching, no angry looks. His discomfort was very clear but he wouldn't mention it.

"Nothing. I could cut all the way up my forearm'n peel the skin back and you'd see metal and the routing for the hydraulics underneath." He paused, uncomfortably sitting with this fact and how it hadn't actually happened for just a moment. "Don't normally make demonstrations 'cause the synthskin healing back together takes time and I don't like messin' up expensive purchases." There was heavy resignation in the way V was speaking now.

"Doesn't matter. What the fuck are wards?"