#spydart

“Ok then, here we are. Welcome to the Protocol.” She stepped aside, showing me a large complex. “Thanks!” Sova replied, amazed at how they were able to stay so secretive with this enormous campus. As he stepped off the plane, he saw 4 people, lined up at the front door.

On the left there was a burly man, looking to be in his 60s, in some military gear and a Seargent’s hat. He shook Sova’s hand, saying, in a distinctly American voice “Hi. I’m Brimstone. The leader.” Next to Brimstone was... a weird person? All in blue and black, with a hood and underneath that hood were 3 blue slits. In a gravelly voice, he introduces himself as Omen. Beside Omen was a young woman in a poofy yellow jacket and weird holographic wristbands, who looked Sova up and down and said, quickly, “Killjoy”, before messing with one of her bracelets again. Next to Killjoy was the person that was definitely the weirdest of the group. Dressed in a strange-looking shirt and pants with an eye on it, and having 0 skin visible - what wasn’t covered by his outfit had black and brown... coverings on it. His eyes were bright turquoise but mostly covered by his hat. Looking down, he said, “Hi there. I’m Cypher.” In a deep, arabic accent.

Someone touched Sova’s shoulder from behind him. He jumped - but it was just the lady that had been in the plane with him. “Sorry to scare you. I’m Viper.”

Timeskip to Dinner (~3 hours)

At dinner, everyone gathered at one table in the large, almost too large, cafeteria. Sova was a few minutes late, then he just grabbed the food he wanted from the bar and sat with the other 5. They all had heaps of food and drink on their trays - except Cypher, who had packaged foods neatly on his tray and was not touching them. Seeing Sova staring, Viper stated, “He doesn’t take his mask off in public, so we package his food and he eats in his room later.” Sova nodded understanding and sat down across from Cypher.

“How are you accustoming to the campus?” asked the Moroccan, to which Sova shrugged. “I don’t know... it’s bigger than the last place, that’s for sure, but it’s a bit of a labyrinth,” Sova replied. “Yeah, I had a bit of a trouble with finding my way at first. Don’t worry, it gets easier to navigate once you’ve been here for about a week.” Cypher was looking down at his food and fidgeting with his fingers. “There are plenty of people here to help me find me way too,” Sova smiled.

“Would you like to go out for dinner sometime?” His words reverbrated around Cypher’s mind, and Cypher was about to go mad with anxiety as the time of the date slowly approached. Any minute now, Sova was going to knock on the door to pick him up, and Cypher was just now realizing that with all his anxiety, he didn’t nicen up for the date -- which he promptly fixed by throwing on a nicer version of his outfit, which ends up looking like a suit.

As he was putting his mask back on after checking to see that he looked fine (he was gonna be eating, so he had to look ok under the mask), there was a sharp knock on the door. Cypher rushed to the door to open it, and Sova was standing right outside - looking splendid, but a bit stiff, in a tux. He was holding flowers and smiled awkwardly at Cypher. “Hello there! Are you ready for dinner?” Sova said, as smoothly as he could. “Of course!”

Timeskip past the drive to the restaurant (~45 minutes)

When they arrived at the restaurant, it was very nice. Almost too nice - it looked a bit fake, especially since it was virtually empty. The waiter took them to a table in the corner, where Cypher could take off his mask. “Could I get you two anything to drink?” asked the waiter. “Yes, a bottle of red wine. Your finest.” Sova raised his eyebrows at this. Cypher was here to play. And to get drunk. “Great, let me grab that for you while you look at the menu.”

When the wine came, Cypher took off his mask, slowly. It was Sova’s first time seeing Cypher without his mask on, and he was a bit surprised - he was expecting Cypher to have burns or bad scars that make him want to wear a mask, but his face had smooth skin with only a couple scars. Sova was also used to Cypher being bald, so his rich, deep curls were truly a shock. Safe to say, Sova was much more in love with Cypher now.

Sova caught himself staring, and then noticed that the waiter was returning. “All right then, what would you like to eat today?” he asked. Sova ordered a filet mignon and Cypher, after a few minutes of deliberation, got a Roquefort Steak.

When their food arrived, Cypher began to slowly eat, and Sova couldn’t help but watch. Cypher would cut off a small bite, then slowly take it up to his mouth and chew it. Nothing weird except the size of the bite, so Sova decided to also start eating in order to not make Cypher feel so weird. “How’s your steak?” Sova asked, not really expecting an answer - Cypher was being particularly quiet. To his surprise, Cypher did respond. “It’s very good - quite tender. How’s yours?” “It’s a bit more cooked than I like it, but it’s overall very good.” This conversation was getting awkward - there wasn’t anything to talk about, so they mostly just ate in silence, enjoying each other’s company. Cypher liked it better that way, anyway.

Cypher (being Cypher) spends most of his time in his room, alone, working on whatever gadget he’s creating

Sova spends a lot of his time with Cypher in Cypher’s room because he doesn’t want Cypher to get lonely

They usually have a movie or show going while Cypher is tinkering and Sova is making light conversation, with takeout boxes and half-eaten food all over the room

When they’re not in Cypher’s room, they’re probably either in a debriefing or the food court, still making light conversation

They aren’t really fans of PDA and don’t usually go farther than holding hands in public

They do like to go and make chitchat with other couples inside the Protocol, except the people they don’t like (Killjoy, Brimstone mainly -- see the Rivals post from yesterday)

In general, they’re actually pretty quiet together - the light conversation is more of a sentence or two a minute. Sova just likes watching Cypher work, and Cypher likes knowing that Sova is watching him

No one in the protocol sees them much while they’re boyfriends, since no one can get them out of Cypher’s room very often

The only visitor they get is Sage, who brings them food because she worries about their health, the other members of the Protocol know from experience to stay away (Jett had an... unfortunate run-in involving a tripwire that triggered a shock dart to come out of the wall)

Overall they seem to be much happier together, they prefer spending time together to being apart by a lot - even Cypher, who isn’t particularly visibly happy usually, is noticeably horrible behavior-wise without Sova nearby