Zey's blog

You let out a frustrated sigh when your call was declined once again.

Was he really that busy ?

For once, you were in the area, taking a break from your years-long case.

You didn’t think you needed it, but unfortunately for you, your boss thought otherwise.

So, you went back to Paris, catching yourself looking forward to having the opportunity to spend some time with your childhood best friend, Vincent Fabron.

The fact that you had the longest standing crush on him to date was part of the reason why you were somewhat happy.

Apparently, he didn’t miss you as much as you did, if your repeated missed calls during the past few days were of any indication.

Ignoring the pang of sadness that overcame you, you put your phone face down on the table and took a bite of your croissant, staring blankly at the Eiffel Tower.

Your mind wandered immediately towards the topic of your investigation, the Everett-Linde Research Facility.

You went over the clues, facts, and timeline once again, for the nth time.

You had repeated that same process more than you had the courage to admit.

Once again, glaring issues arose ; some parts of the camera recordings were straight up missing, how everything was going smoothly until that fatal moment…

You groaned, banging your head on the table as you remembered that you were on vacation.

You took the last bite of your viennoiserie as you finished your coffee, and exited the café with a small smile and wave to the cashier.

Just as the door closed, you heard screams of panic as well as gunshots.

Immediately on high alert, you pulled out your phone to call the police, running against the crowd to get as close to the origin of the mayhem without risking your life.

You really wished you were in uniform right now.

It would’ve prevented at least some of the headache of investigating.

You pointed to the civilians still behind the path to safety, and just as you were about to resume your chase, you heard someone fall and cry out.

A kid.

You looked back and discerned an alarming amount of figures that clearly had rifles, running towards you.

Some of them aimed at you, some at the child on the ground.

There was an alleyway behind you that you knew you could go to and avoid the oncoming fire. 

You wouldn’t have time to get the kid without risking injury.

Your decision was made as you dashed towards the young civilian, taking them into your arms and running towards the safe spot, hissing and ducking as bullets scraped you.

You put them down, assessing them.

Besides a handful of minor injuries, they seemed to be fine.

“Can you walk ?” You asked, meeting their terrified gaze. They nodded, their limbs shaking. “Run,” You ordered, and you didn’t have to tell them twice as they scrambled away.

It’s only then that you realised that your shoulder was hurt, the adrenaline going down just a bit. You mumbled a jumble of curses, aware that there was a high chance whoever was running towards you would continue their chase.

You had to be quick and deadly then, you told yourself as numerous quick paced footsteps approached your location.

You were about to jump the closest one, but froze as your eyes met.

“V ?” You breathed, and he looked as stunned as you were. 

More gunshots, and you saw the glint of a scope aiming right at you.

You jumped your best friend, making him hit the ground with a grunt as the bullet whistled by you.

More bullets were shot, and what you assumed were his allies began suppressive fire, leaving you enough time to get off him and help him up.

A million questions were running through your mind, but you knew this wasn’t the time to voice any of them.

Quickly, you duck behind a car for cover, assessing the situation.

You were missing a ton of context, and you desperately needed more information to decide the best course of action.

You glanced towards your friend, who seemed to be listening to some comms. 

Whatever was happening, it was coordinated. 

You met gazes, and his eyes trailed to your injured shoulder.

They widened a bit before he was quick to interject whatever the person on the other side of the line was saying.

“Civilian injury. One of us has to stay behind to make sure that they can make it out,” He announced, breaking eye contact.

Right. He didn’t know.

And this wasn’t the time to open that can of worms, so you stayed silent.

You looked across the road, your glance catching the faces of who you assumed were Vincent’s allies. 

The shots drew closer.

“V,” You started, effectively grabbing his attention. “If you explained to me what’s happening, maybe I can help,” You said, determined.

You had to make sure that you were on the right side, too, but you didn’t voice that.

A beat passed where you saw the hesitation on his features clear as day.

He sighed.

“Terrorist attack,” He answered. “We’re trying to mitigate the damages,” He continued, readjusting the grip on his rifle. 

It was your turn to sigh.

“After this shit is over, you owe me a proper explanation,” You ordered, your gaze hard.

He averted his eyes with a slight nod.

“I can fend for myself,” You announced as his head whipped towards you. “I’ll hold them off, you do whatever you gotta do,” You said, already coming up with a plan of action.

“I can’t allow you to do that,” He retorted, as if you were insane for even offering. Maybe you were. “You don’t even have a weapon,” He insisted, his worry for you clear. 

“Then give me one,” You replied, finally glancing at him.

After a small staring contest, he must’ve seen something in you that reassured him.

Handing you his vandal and ammunition, you nodded as you looked into the magazine. 

“As soon as you’re clear, head to those coordinates,” He explained, sending you a quick message. “You do not have to kill, just slow them down. Stay safe,” He ordered, and you shook your head in affirmation, not looking at him. “Hey, eyes on me,” He ordered, and you did as told. “Promise me you will not endanger your life needlessly,” He begged, his whole body language tense.

“Promise,” You replied, and he relaxed ever so slightly.

And so, he and his friends left you to be as you opened fire, grabbing the attention of the terrorists. 

Bullets flew around you, and you managed to injure and even take down some of them.

One that looked like a spitting image of Vincent somehow closed the gap between the two of you, knocking you down as his handgun was aimed at your skull.

“Protecting the one responsible for the Everett-Linde incident ? How disappointing,” He said, his voice full of disdain. 

Thankfully, the duplicate had the same build as your best friend, which meant you managed to make him lose his balance by kicking his chin and you escaped, your mind racing with even more questions and even less answers.

You went to the rendezvous point, out of breath.

You had run all the way, taking too many turns in hopes of losing the terrorists.

Seeing as nobody was around, you figured you succeeded.

You sat down on the ground, hissing at the throbbing pain in your shoulder, instinctively bringing your other hand to it and applying pressure on the injury. 

Thankfully, you didn’t have to wait long to see numerous figures emerging, one of them being Vincent…

You think.

Pointing your weapon at him, the others were quick to point theirs at you as your “friend” held his hands up.

“Show me your chin,” You asked calmly, and he tilted his head up, no signs of injuries there. He had other cuts and bruises, though.

You put the gun down, a sigh of relief escaping you.

The others did much the same, glancing at the Frenchman. 

“Let’s wait for the Vulture and get you checked out,” He announced, his features overrun with concern.

Right, you did start to feel the effects of blood loss.

As you got up, a dizzy spell overcame you, and you almost fell to the ground.

He had caught you, silently putting you on his back as your chin rested on his trapeze. 

You struggled to keep your eyes open, and you managed to for a while… You imagined.

The last thing you registered before passing out completely was the sound of a helicopter approaching.

—

You awoke in an unfamiliar and sterile room, your head and shoulder throbbing. 

You groaned, the memories of what had happened flooding back.

The words of your best friend’s duplicate resonated in your mind. 

You looked around you, and thankfully, nobody was there.

There didn’t appear to be any cameras either, so you pulled out your phone, opening the encrypted files.

You had to get to the bottom of this.

If only to fact check his words.

Unfortunately, just as you entered the last password, the door opened and closed. 

Turning off your phone and putting it beside you face down, you turned your attention to whoever entered the room.

Among the familiar faces, you saw Vincent’s.

You relaxed just a bit, knowing that you weren’t alone in this mess, before remembering that he was one of the prime suspects now.

After a bit of back and forth, they revealed that the attack was made by the mirrored version of our reality, called Omega Earth.

They had attempted to steal Radianite, this time extending more resources towards this end.

At the end of the explanation, the one who presented himself as Brimstone spoke ;

“You don’t seem surprised at all,” He commented, arching an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest.

“No,” You confirmed, choosing your next words carefully. “I was already aware of Omega Earth, following the incident of Everett-Linde,” You announced, scanning the crowd slowly.

Your best friend had a look of pure panic and dread at your confession, but he quickly recovered.

Not quick enough, though.

Your heart clenched as you went into “work” mode.

Not letting any more emotions be shown involuntarily. 

“How did you come around this information ?” The one named Viper questioned, her eyes squinting.

“I have my sources,” You answered vaguely. 

You knew you only appeared as more suspicious.

You couldn’t be bothered to care, however.

You knew what you had to do next, but you honestly didn’t want to.

“Is that everything ? I’d like to rest if that’s okay, my headache is killing me,” You asked, and it was true ; your head was arguably hurting even more than when you had woken up.

They nodded, leaving you to be, not without giving you one last glance, besides Vincent.

They could’ve at least tried not to be so openly distrustful, you thought. 

Once in the clear, you went back to your phone, re-entering the passwords and combing through the evidence one last time.

As you watched the camera footage frame by frame, you noticed at the edge of the screen what you recognised to be one of your childhood friend’s inventions.

His teleporter.

A while later, his Tour de Force was seen before the footage cut, just the tip of it.

Such small details that if you weren’t actively looking for it, you wouldn’t have caught it.

And you didn’t, until now.

For all of those years…

You felt a multitude of emotions passing through you, none that you could give space to breathe, much less process. 

You sat there in silence as you stared at your device, your hands shaking.

After a while, you got up from the bed and turned off your phone, heading towards the exit.

You got out of the infirmary, your eyes scanning for him.

You didn’t even know what name to give him, what status he had.

Finding who you were looking for, you walked up to him, ignoring the fact that he was chatting with another agent as you called his name.

“Vincent,” You said, and you saw him freeze as he turned around, worry filling his eyes.

You never called each other your full names, always opting for shortened versions.

The only times you did were an indication that the situation was to be taken very seriously.

“The research facility,” You started, and his eyes widened. “Everett-Linde,” You clarified, as if you needed to do that. “To what extent were you involved in the incident ?” You interrogated, your voice surprisingly even. 

Your wording was accusatory.

You saw that it made a few heads turn to your direction out of the corner of your eyes.

Your gaze however, was firmly trained on the man in front of you, watching as his expression changed numerous times.

From shock, to panic, to anger, to sadness, and now guilt.

The silence stretched out.

“Answer me,” You ordered, your voice like ice.

A small part of you was praying for you to be wrong.

“I, along with my mirrored version, triggered the breakdown of the facility,” He confessed, and you heard a few gasps arise. 

You couldn’t help your next move, your mask of professionalism cracking.

You slapped him with all of your might.

It resonated against the walls, making him take a few steps to catch his balance as he brought a shaking hand to his injured cheek, his head turned away from you.

You wanted to scream at him.

To insult him, to make him understand just how much he fucked up.

How you couldn’t see him as a friend now, how you couldn’t trust him.

You did none of that.

“Vincent Fabron, you are under arrest for mass murder,” You announced, pronouncing each word slowly in an attempt to ground yourself.

“What is going on here ?” You heard Brimstone’s voice call out, but you didn’t glance at him, your gaze fixed on the man you were arresting.

“I’m arresting him,” You answered and you could clearly see the small tears rolling down his cheeks, his glasses long gone from the impact of your hand.

He didn’t look at you though, didn’t even change his head’s position.

“Under what jurisdiction ?” He questioned, his tone changing to be even more authoritative.

“International criminal law,” You replied, cursing that you didn’t bring any of your items with you.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” He retorted, and you finally glanced at him. 

“Are you preventing me from doing my job ?” You asked incredulously, stunned.

“I’m saying that you will not get out of here with him,” He stated, taking big strides towards you.

You didn’t move. 

Soon enough, he was in your personal space.

“Are you threatening me ?” You arched an eyebrow, making eye contact.

“I don’t make threats, I make promises,” He said without missing a beat.

You looked around the room, feeling the Radianite crackling.

You weren’t one to back down.

Not when you knew you were in the right.

You were always one to try against all odds, which is why you were even assigned this case in the first place.

This time though, you couldn’t bring yourself to do so.

Maybe it was the betrayal, maybe it was the fact that he still didn’t move his head to look anywhere, as if he wasn’t really present.

Either way, you felt your mask crack just a bit more as you gritted your teeth.

“Alright then,” You conceded. “Let’s talk,” You said, and you felt the energy in the room slowly dissipate.

“Follow me,” Ordered the agent that you realised was ex K-Sec, if his uniform was anything to go by.

As he turned and started to walk away, you found yourself hesitating, fighting the urge to look back at Vincent.

You clenched your fists as you forced yourself to take the first step, the next one coming more easily to you, and so on and so forth.

You were guided into a remotely situated room, and you took a seat, Brimstone sitting in front of you.

You knew there was another person in the room, but didn’t comment on it.

“Who do you work for ?” He questioned, his eyes firm.

Not leaving room for any other answers than the truth.

You didn’t answer, your silence a challenge.

“We will find out, you know,” A new voice spoke, and you heard something akin to a coin being played around with. “Just make our jobs easier and tell us right now,” He continued, and you saw two glowing eyes focusing on you from one of the dark corners of the room.

You unfortunately had to take those words at face value.

“The IICI,” You replied, studying their body language for any shift.

You found none.

“Why arrest him now ?” Brimstone asked, hiding his mouth between his joined hands, while his elbows were resting on the table.

“Didn’t know it was him until a few moments ago,” You admitted, your eyes trained on him.

“Does anyone else know about this discovery ?” The man with the glowing eyes followed up.

You didn’t like where this was going.

“No,” You answered truthfully. “But if you were to get rid of me, my disappearance will certainly alert my colleagues and superiors,” You added, which the voice chuckled creepily.

“We wouldn’t want that, do we now ?” He stated rhetorically. 

“Drop the charges,” Requested the man with the beret. 

“You know as well as I do that I can’t do that,” You replied, squinting.

“What if you heard the reasoning behind said crime ?” The one in the shadow spoke, finally stepping into the light. “You’re attached to him, yes ? You know as well as we do that he wouldn’t do such a thing without a good motive,” He continued, and you cursed him for pulling at your heart strings.

For seeing right through you.

For being right.

You felt your mask crack some more, your hands starting to shake.

“Fine,” You said, your voice cracking. You cleared your throat. “Bring him here,” You agreed, and both of them relaxed at your words.

They got out, and you were left alone with your thoughts.

Your mind was running in circles, the facts torturing you.

The sound of the door opening and closing got you out of your spiralling.

Vincent didn’t even dare to glance at you as he wordlessly took the seat in front of you, his eyes glued to the table.

He sniffled, and you noticed the cheek was swollen.

You didn’t like his behaviour.

You wanted him to fight you, to vehemently prove his innocence to you, or at the very least, to shout at you his motives.

It was as if he had accepted his fate and his friends – and a part of you alongside them – were fighting a losing battle.

The anger that you already felt only rose at this realisation.

“Your friends are trying to make me drop the charges, y’know. Their argument was that you had a reason for committing that atrocity,” You announced, cursing how your voice shook. “You’re not doing a good job at justifying yourself,” You commented, and you couldn’t help the bitterness slipping through.

No reaction.

It made you even more upset.

“I guess we were wrong for believing in you, then,” You observed, and you saw him freeze. “To believe that you had a reason, that you wouldn’t just agree to do that shit without a second thought,” You continued, and you felt your mask crumble away as your lips trembled and your vision became blurry. “That you’re not a heartless killer,” You whispered, your voice breaking.

You shakily wiped away the tears escaping your eyes, taking deep breaths to calm yourself.

You couldn’t help your mind attempting to come up with a loophole to save his stupid ass. 

You cursed yourself for even thinking about it.

“The least you could do is look me in the eyes,” You commented, sorrow becoming anger. “Do I really mean that little to you ?” You asked, baffled, shaking your head in disbelief.

For the first time since you slapped him, he reacted by slowly shaking his head.

“You mean more than I could possibly express,” He croaked out, his voice so broken.

You’ve seen him at low points in his life, helping them through it.

This wasn’t like any other.

“Then talk to me,” You surprised yourself by begging, feeling another set of tears well up.

You reached out your hand, then stopped, bringing it back to your body.

It didn’t escape him.

“He told me that it would have a domino effect on both of our world’s dooms,” He revealed, sighing. He pinched the bridge of his nose, a shallow laughter escaping his lips. “Told me we could prevent it by destroying the facility with everyone in it,” He continued, his voice breaking. 

He finally met your gaze, and the sheer hurt and guilt that was written all over his features made your heart throb.

“If there was any other way, trust me, I wouldn’t have chosen this path,” He finished, his voice akin to a whimper.

“Why…” You started, barely keeping control of your own feelings. “Why didn’t you tell me ?” 

“To tell you what ?” He retorted, more aggressive than he meant to, if you could trust the way he slouched right afterwards. “I couldn’t just tell you I committed mass murder,” He croaked, bringing a shaking hand to his face. “Look at us now, that same confession is tearing us apart,” He commented, his lips shaking. “I couldn’t – can’t – lose you,” He admitted, a sob escaping him.

You wanted nothing more than to comfort him.

Your body was just frozen in place, your thoughts too incoherent to voice any of them.

“So many times I’ve wanted to tell you,” He continued, taking your silence as disapproval. “I have many things I want to confess to you, not just that. The VP included, as well,” He continued, his voice growing in desperation. 

His hand reached out across the table, slow and hesitant, before he stopped halfway through.

The hand remained there.

The lump in your throat only grew.

You fought yourself to open your mouth and say anything.

So you did.

“Now sounds like the right time,” You encouraged, barely above a whisper.

You didn’t know where this was going.

You were scared to find out, if you were honest.

He took a deep breath, his hand leaving his face.

“I love you,” He announced, his intense gaze making your heart skip a beat. “I’ve always loved you, since the day we met back in kindergarten,” He continued, seeing something in you that encouraged him. “It didn’t matter who I was dating, sleeping with, my heart would only yearn for you. It was suffocating, especially when you dated around, too,” He admitted, his pace quickening. His eyes became watery. “I only wish I could’ve told you in different circumstances,” He added, his voice soft.

You searched his features for any lie.

Because honestly, you couldn’t believe your own ears.

He took your silence as a rejection, and his body language shifted in a way that told you he expected as much.

Out of panic and pure instinct, you took his hand, the gesture surprising both of you.

You were feeling too many things at once, not finding the ability to say any of your thoughts.

He figured as much, if his understanding gaze was anything to come by.

“We’ll get through this,” You promised, your voice shakier than you wanted it.

You squeezed his hand, reassuringly.

A silent sign that you had his back.

He was visibly surprised by your words, before relief washed over him and tears poured.

He nodded solemnly, saying “thank you” repeatedly, and if you had to be honest…

You didn’t know what he was thanking you for.

Probably too many things.

—

You had spent the remainder of your vacation in the Protocol’s HQ, getting accustomed to every member as you pulled together the evidence and prepared your case for the judges.

They were understandably wary of you at first, but after an endorsement from both Brimstone and Cypher – the one with the glowing eyes in the interrogation room – everybody had visibly relaxed.

Rumours of your shared history with Vincent quickly spread.

Despite their veracity, they were just that, rumours.

Least to say, the air around you when the both of you even just shared a room was almost suffocating for you.

The marksman had taken his distance, knowing full well that you needed time to process the large amount of news and revelations. 

On top of that, you had to remain as impartial as possible in the presentation of evidence, on top of carefully choosing the wording for his defence and motive.

You had to at least try to protect him.

You worked on it day and night, hardly ever coming out of your room, barely seen talking to anybody.

You had briefly wondered why they even kept you in the heart of their headquarters, before pushing the question away.

You had to focus.

You reached for the pot on your desk to pour yourself another serving of coffee before realising that it was empty. With a groan, you exited your room for the first time in what felt like weeks, making a bee-line for the kitchen.

The halls were weirdly empty, all lights off.

Was it the middle of the night ?

You guessed that you would have to be quieter, then.

You had to pass through the break room to go to the kitchen, and just as you approached it, you saw a familiar silhouette slouched on one of the armchairs.

You knew Vincent had the tendency to pull all nighters back in the day, much like what you were doing now, but you had thought he stopped doing so.

Either you were wrong in assuming so, or something was deeply upsetting him.

You had stopped walking when you were in front of him, trying to figure out what to say.

He just so happened to look up right as you formulated the words in your head, and your mind went blank.

He was a mess.

… You probably weren't looking so hot, either, now that you thought about it.

His eyes wandered between you and the emptied massive pot of instant coffee in your hands, and he frowned.

“You’re going to put that back, right ?” He croaked, the first words you spoke to one another since that day.

You bit your lips, shaking your head silently.

“I was actually going to get my refill,” You admitted, tearing your gaze away from him.

He breathed out your name, his tone filled with worry, shock, and a warning.

“How many hours have you slept today ?” He interrogated, and you knew this voice.

He wanted the truth, all of it.

“Maybe 5…” You started, then spoke again, your own voice small. “This week,” You cleared your throat, trying to be nonchalant.

At your words, he got up and took the pot from your weak grasp, and you could tell he was fuming.

You didn’t want to admit that you were doing this for him.

You knew how he would react.

He walked away from you, putting your prized possession back where it belonged, before coming back to you.

As your eyes met, you could tell he wanted to say and do oh so many things.

Instead, his gaze hardened.

“You’re going to sleep, now,” He ordered, not leaving any room for argumentation.

“Won’t be able to,” You confessed, your eyes staring at your feet.

If you were to go back to your room, you would just continue working until you passed out at your desk.

He sighed, taking your hand in his and guiding you to what you recognised was his room, and he got you on the bed, next to the wall. 

Your hand was still firmly in his possession.

“If you can’t sleep, at least rest your mind for a bit,” He announced, his voice still hard, but there was a softness and gentleness around the edges.

You just stared at each other in the darkness, your eyes exploring his features as if you were rediscovering him.

You stared at the markings that you had grown to appreciate, glistening softly.

Your eyes trailed to his cheeks, his skin looking paler than usual.

Naturally, your gaze rested on his lips, drawn in a thin line. 

You always wondered how they felt, how they tasted.

You shook the thought away, now wasn’t the time.

Finally, you stared into his eyes.

They were tired – exhausted – but attentive. Worried.

You saw it from his perspective ; the closest friend that he had all throughout his life finally got to know the one thing that was haunting him for years, not taking it well at all. 

On top of that, he had confessed his repressed feelings – something that he still didn’t get a proper answer to – and right afterwards, his best friend just barricaded themself away in a room for days on end.

When they finally emerged, he got to know that they weren’t taking care of themself at all.

Man, what a shitshow.

“I told you to rest your mind, not torture yourself with it,” He commented, a slight tease in his voice.

Your lips perked up for a moment.

At the softening of his gaze, it was the right reaction.

“I’m sorry,” You apologised, taking him aback. “I have not been fair to you since that day,” You explained, playing with the collar of your shirt. “I guess I was so focused on trying to protect you that I neglected repairing the relationship,” You admitted, sighing.

“Protecting me ?” He repeated, inching closer. He squeezed your hand briefly, making you look at him. “What do you mean ?” He enquired, and you knew you had fucked up.

There was no backing out now, you guessed.

“Been working on wrapping up the case, evidence, your confession, motives… Just, trying to make them loosen the verdict,” You said, and he froze, his entire body tensing up. “I don’t know if it’s going to work, given our… Relationship, but I at least got to try,” You spoke your words slowly, breaking eye contact.

“Let me get this straight,” He started, his tone clearly baffled. “You’ve been working yourself to the bone to protect me ? Me, the cause of such sorrows and heartbreaks, responsible for taking hundreds of people’s lives ?” He asked, searching your eyes for any lie.

He found none.

“Why ?” He asked, his voice soft and on the brink of breaking.

“Because I love you,” You blurted, surprising both of you with your sudden confession. You sighed. “I can’t just sit back while my fucking best friend risks life in prison for something he thought had no other options but to do,” You continued, your voice rising slightly. “I love you, V, I really fucking do. I can’t just watch you spend your life behind bars when I can do something about it,” You finished, seeing your vision blur.

You wanted nothing but to comfort him.

To cuddle with him and fall asleep, getting a full night’s rest for once.

But time was precious.

Unfortunately, Chamber would have none of that, as he scooped you closer to him, his arms wrapping around your body firmly as you let out quiet sobs.

He whispered sweet nothings into your ear as you cried, rubbing your spine gently, comforting you.

Eventually, you fell asleep, exhaustion taking over your mind.

You woke up in the same bed, your best friend quietly watching over you.

“Good morning,” He greeted, and you had a faint smile.

“Morning, V,” You said, and it was his turn for his lips to perk up.

After staring into his eyes for a moment, you sat up on the bed, stretching.

“You need to take a day off,” He commented, frowning. “Weren’t you on vacation ?” He observed, arching an eyebrow.

“I will be on vacation for sure once the case’s closed,” You argued, and he sighed.

“We both know that’s a lie,” He objected, to which you had no answers. “Please, take the day off,” He was downright begging. “If not for yourself, then for me,” He insisted. “I missed you,” He admitted, his cheeks dusting a light pink.

You sighed, feeling yourself concede against your best judgement.

“Fine,” You agreed, falling back on the bed.

Immediately, your best friend started cuddling you once again.

You were no stranger to this behaviour, but you felt like it had another meaning after both of your confessions.

You wanted to clear the air, but you knew your relationship status would not help with your case, so you refrained.

You just sighed, content.

You hoped you wouldn’t regret this later.

“Stop thinking about work already,” He grumbled, flicking his fingers on your forehead playfully.

“Ow,” You say without really meaning it. You relaxed into his grasp still. “Alright,” You accepted, and he smiled.

He nodded in approval.

He said your name, and you hummed in acknowledgement.

“Thank you,” He spoke, kissing the top of your forehead gently.

“Told you we were going to get through this,” You reminded him, and he chuckled.

—

Soon enough came Vincent’s trial, which was of course, very mediatised. 

You knew that regardless of the penalty, his enterprise would suffer greatly. 

Since you were the one to discover the truth, you were also the one presenting the evidence.

You hoped your position and arguments would bring nuance to the table.

Thankfully for everyone, the courtroom wasn’t open to the public or media outlets.

It would be easier to keep the world calm about Omega Earth that way.

“So you’re not arguing about the if, but about the why ?” Questioned the judge, arching an eyebrow.

You nodded. 

“Your Honor, I’m sure you are well aware of the existence of Omega Earth.  Mr. Fabron was told it was either the Research Facility or our realities, just as stated in his testimony,” You repeated, hoping to sound convincing enough.

He hummed, before looking at the evidence presented. 

You continued back and forth, the judgement lasting over several days.

In the end, your friend was sentenced to 50 years with parole.

You did your best to protect him.

It wasn’t in your hands anymore.

You really just had put your childhood best friend in prison, huh ?

You knew you weren’t allowed to talk to him and much less see him anymore for the foreseeable future.

You sighed as you got into your car, feeling your eyes fill up with tears.

You stayed in the vehicle silently, letting your emotions run free for once.

During the following weeks, you considered quitting.

That whole situation really did manage to break you, and you weren’t sure that you were capable of being able to keep going.

It didn’t escape your boss, who summoned you to his office.

“You do not seem too happy with the outcome,” He commented, and you almost thought it to be rhetoric.

“I have put behind bars my childhood best friend,” You replied, trying your best to hide the venom in your tone.

“You have brought justice to the families,” He argued. “If you cannot bring yourself to understand that, then I cannot with good conscience keep you as an asset,” He continued, his gaze hard.

“Then fire me right now,” You answered, sighing. You knew you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself regardless.

“As you wish,” He conceded, and you nodded as you left the room to pack your belongings.

When you got home, you didn’t even bother to get out of your uniform, flopping face first into your couch.

The emptiness that you had felt since the sentencing only grew, finding yourself greatly missing Vincent.

You guessed you had to wait a handful more years before seeing him again.

A knock on your door was heard, and you groaned.

You really didn’t want any visitors.

Regardless, you got up from the couch, opening the entrance without checking who was there.

You were surprised to see Viper, not looking very pleased to be here.

You quirked an eyebrow.

She sighed.

“Brimstone sees potential in you as an asset for the Protocol,” She announced, and you frowned at the wording.

From your understanding, she was also a founding member of the team.

Another question quickly arose by the timing of all of this.

“Were you waiting for me to get fired ?” You questioned, leaning on the doorframe.

She squinted.

“Recruitment is less of a hassle if the potential asset doesn’t have anything holding them back,” She replied, which answered your question.

“Do I have time to think it over ?” You asked, and she rolled her eyes.

“A week. Go to these coordinates if your answer is yes. Don’t come otherwise,” She said, handing you a piece of paper.

You nodded. 

“Anything else ?” 

“No,” She retorted, and you nodded, closing the door on her.

You leaned on the wood, staring at the item in your hands.

You really had nothing to lose.

Maybe joining them would be the best way for you to get to know the people that were a major part of Vincent’s life until recently.

It could be a way for you to get closer to him, in a weird way.

But it also meant that your rare opportunities to visit him would be even more scarce.

You had to think it over.

For the following week, you barely got out of your apartment, idly looking for jobs that would fit your resume, not looking at the news or any social media sites because well…

You knew what would be the hot topic, and you wanted to hear nothing of it.

It was hard to deal with the consequences of your actions, even if it was the right thing, as had been pointed out by your old boss.

The more time passed, the more appealing Viper’s offer became. 

By the sixth day, your decision had been made.

So, you began packing your belongings, most of them consisting of gifts your childhood best friend had given you over the years.

You knew you would have to tell him, but if your memory was serving you right, he was still in between prisons.

You sighed.

Should you cancel the lease of your home ?

You would have to ask whoever was going to pick you up.

You woke up early on the last day, not because you wanted to, but rather because you couldn’t sleep.

Your circadian schedule had been fucked for a while.

You just couldn’t be bothered to fix it.

You headed towards the coordinates indicated on the paper, and realised it was a long way off Paris.

You drove in silence, not being able to listen to most of your music, almost all of them being associated with your best friend.

If you turned any of them on, you couldn’t guarantee yourself not to cry, which would be a safety hazard for you.

You ended up arriving at your destination, a small aerodrome that you didn’t know existed. 

You parked, and you immediately saw two men walking towards you, both of whom you recognised to be Valorant agents.

“Glad we didn’t come all this way for nothing,” Announced the one you recognised to be Phoenix with a playful tone. 

You nodded, smiling awkwardly.

“You took care of everything back home, yes ?” Asked a tall blond man, Sova, if you recalled correctly.

“Yeah,” You confirmed, and he hummed in acknowledgement as he took some of your luggage.

The British man took the remainder, and as the plane took off, the blond agent had a small smile.

“Welcome to the Protocol.”

—

It had been a few days since you had joined the Valorant agents as a permanent member, and slowly, you could feel the emptiness leaving you.

You were talking about knitting with Omen, since you had wanted to get into the hobby yourself. 

He was much too eager to talk about it, if you could trust his lighter tone and the glowing of his…

Eyes ?

Were they eyes ?

“So, we went over the tools, but where should I start with knitting ?” You asked, jotting down some thoughts on your phone. “Are blankets easy to do at all ?” You questioned, ignoring the large amount of footsteps getting closer to you.

One pair stopped, and you would’ve continued to pay it no mind if you didn’t notice the controller’s gaze shifting to look behind you.

It must be important since you had managed to keep his attention on you throughout your conversation.

So, you turned around, barely registering the figure before you got pulled into a tight, strong hug.

You’d recognise that cologne anywhere.

“V ?” You breathed, immediately tearing up.

He didn’t answer, instead tightening his grip around you, his face buried in the crook of your neck.

Coming to your senses, you hugged back, silent tears falling down your face.

Neither of you wanted to let go, you realised.

“How come you’re here ?” You whispered, still in disbelief.

“The Protocol struck a deal. I can continue to operate as an agent, but I do not have the authorization to go outside other than for missions,” He answered, holding you so tightly you’d think you would disappear if he even loosened his grip.

And nobody told you about…

You wanted to curse, but your frustration had very little space right now.

You were just glad to be able to spend time with him again.

He pulled his head away, catching your eyes.

Leaning in, he stopped a few centimetres away from your nose, your breaths melting into one.

“Can I kiss you ?” He asked, barely loud enough for you to hear.

You silently closed the gap, meeting his lips.

The kiss was full of untold love and desperation, of yearning and belonging.

You snaked your hands on his neck, deepening it.

His hands rested firmly on your hips, somehow pulling you even closer to his body.

You melted into his grasp, the emptiness that you had felt all this time long forgotten.

You broke away, out of breath.

You made eye contact, and you knew that look.

He was very close to just openly making out with you.

You had a light chuckle.

“Not here, V,” You answered his unspoken question as he leaned in, his hands lowering.

He smirked, knowing.

He surprised you by lifting you up and resting his hands on the underside of your thighs as you instinctively wrapped your legs around his waist.

“Let’s have fun somewhere else, then,” He announced, which made you blush.

When Omen found himself in front of Viper’s office, he felt his hands shake ever so slightly.

He decided to ignore it.

Ignore the dread he was experiencing.

The fear taking hold of his mind in a vice grip.

He took a deep breath, calming his shaking limbs. 

Finally, after what felt both like an eternity and a split second, he knocked on the door.

“Come in,” The woman announced, in a tone that he knew would change once she got to know who was enquiring her attention.

He did as told, however.

He saw her face fall and colour leave her already pale face once she locked eyes with him.

He stared as she regained her composure rather quickly.

If he wasn’t looking for it, he wouldn’t have noticed.

Was this how she would always react once he came into a room ?

Or only when they were the only ones present ?

The human shadow tried his best not to ask so many questions.

Especially the ones he didn’t wish to be answered.

“I am here to give my report,” He explained, once he realised he had been staring for too long.

“You could’ve done so in written form,” She replied, straightening her back.

Like you always did.

While those words were untold, Omen knew that was what she thought.

Now that he was aware of her little… Game, he seemed to be able to see everything clearer.

Seeing things as they always were.

“I wanted to deliver this report… Personally,” He retorted, and immediately, she tensed up.

Almost imperceptibly.

Almost.

“Well then…” She sighed, but her eyes were trained on him.

She kind of looked like a terrified prey.

When he realised that, he felt empowered.

He could turn the tables, if he so wished.

He considered his next words carefully.

“I know the truth about what happened ; from my death to my connection to the Scions. My only question is this ; why didn’t you tell me anything ?” He spoke, doing his best to keep his voice even.

He had to admit, it was a struggle for him to not touch her – to strangle her or to at least grab her shoulder – or even to not raise his voice.

He would take the high road, even if he thought she didn’t deserve it.

Because he was better than her.

“You weren’t ready to hear it,” She replied, her body betraying her words.

He could taste her panic, her fear.

“Is that the reason ? Or was it you who wasn’t ready ?” He questioned, taking one step closer.

She immediately took a step backwards.

He smirked in odd satisfaction.

Not that she could tell his expressions.

She didn’t answer for a while.

He kept coming closer, and eventually, she hit a wall.

She looked absolutely terrified, as if he was going to finish the job he never had the chance to.

It stung.

It hurt him more than he anticipated.

Was it really all she could see in him ?

The man that tried to kill her ?

It was only when he took yet another step, that she finally spoke up.

“I was scared !” She shouted, flinching. “Scared of what you would do, of how you would react,” She continued, not looking at him.

He frowned at that.

The least she could do is look him in the eyes.

“So you decided to ruin my life instead, is that it ?” He growled, unsatisfied.

She didn’t answer.

Nor did she even glance in his direction.

“Forget it,” Omen finally said, stepping away from her. “Know this ; I am not my past. That will never change,” He continued as he had his back turned from her.

He quietly walked towards the exit, and stopped at the door frame.

She didn’t say anything.

He didn’t know what to expect…

Probably more dignity.

He walked away, calling Brimstone on the way outside of the HQ.

It went straight to voicemail.

He wasn’t surprised…

But he wished to hear his thoughts.

Maybe he had some more insights to give to the human shadow.

He had already made his decision a while ago, during his conversation with Cypher.

He didn’t know what he wished to hear, much less what he needed to.

When he heard the familiar beep, he started speaking.

He ignored the agents around him as he went to his room to pack.

There were some moments where he hesitated on the choice of wording.

But his movements didn’t falter.

He would find his purpose.

He will come back.

He just needed some time.

As he hung up the phone, he undid the tracker on him, and teleported somewhere.

He didn’t know.

He didn’t care.

He just needed out.

On the way back from the revealing mission, Omen took his time to recount every single moment passed with Viper, trying desperately to find any ounce of indication on how she truly felt about him.

He found none, he told himself.

… He just didn’t want to admit it out loud, much less to himself. 

Not seeing the time flying by, he realised as they were landing that they arrived at base. 

Without paying any mind to the other agents present wanting to greet the returning ones, he immediately went to his room to ruminate.

The only thing he couldn’t figure out was why.

Why did Viper hide the truth from him ?

Why did she never say anything about him ?

Why was she so afraid of him and what he could do ?

He wasn’t some kind of…

He shook his head.

Omen was doing his best to avoid jumping to conclusions.

Unlike a certain someone…

He clenched his fists.

He was bitter.

He was angry.

He was also hurt and confused. 

Would it help him make the right move ? 

Probably not.

Which was why he was taking his time analysing and feeling, so he could be stoic and objective when he would confront Viper. 

… He needed to punch something.

Heading to the training room, he barely acknowledged Cypher while passing by the lounge, much to the latter’s surprise.

He wasn’t in the mood.

… The radiant also didn’t know if he could hold it together if he were to speak to him.

Hah, a radiant.

Could he still call himself as such ?

Radiants were born with powers.

They hardly ever became one.

In his case, he was man made.

All this pain…

All this suffering…

All of those nightmares…

Because of her.

He wasn’t mad at her actions back then, it was purely self-defence.

What he was angry about was her inaction.

Her lack of motivation to help him.

He was lucky to even be on this mission, but then, what she was attempting to do would be too obvious for everyone.

People would question her and her impartiality.

Probably why she also wants a full report.

To make sure that her rabid dog doesn’t bite her.

His punches became more and more erratic.

When did he even start ?

… He really needed to empty his mind.

The fact that he was even going in hand to hand combat was rare.

Something about it always felt wrong to him. 

He guessed that now he knew why.

Omen thought back on Viper’s behaviour in the past, how she was so hesitant to have him on the team after being saved by Sage.

Even on missions, when she would sometimes slip up…

He didn’t notice it then, because he was hearing so many things…

But the way she tensed up and looked at him nervously, finger on the trigger, as if ready to shoot him at the slightest wrong move.

It was weird, now that he was thinking about it a bit more.

He… He should’ve seen this coming. 

The fact that he didn’t…

He tensed up. 

He felt foolish.

Stupid.

Blind.

How could he be so oblivious ?

He was lied to.

Used.

A dog on a leash.

What hurts more ?

Being ripped apart by this machine ?

Or knowing your greatest failure…

Now holds your leash ?

He shook his head.

His old boss’s words would not leave his agitated mind.

He knew the answer, but didn’t want to admit it to himself.

He was hurt, either way.

It has been a long time since he felt this betrayed or wounded.

He didn’t like it.

What would he say to Viper ?

Should he talk about it to Brimstone ?

Omen felt like he should do so.

It was too important information to keep quiet about it.

What would he do first ?

… Maybe being heard by his other boss would help him with his mental state.

Omen kept punching and punching, ignoring the soreness in his arms.

He didn’t know for how long he went.

Too deep in his thoughts, he knew one simple thing : 

He desperately needed it.

His mind now clear, he sat down in the training room, out of breath.

“Omen ?” A voice reached out to him, bringing him back to reality, so gentle and soft.

He would know that voice from anywhere.

He turned around – as much as he could while sitting – to face Cypher, who was looking at him with concern.

He just stared silently at the sentinel.

“Are you okay, my quiet friend ?” He questioned, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly.

Almost would be imperceptible if the controller didn’t know him so well.

He didn’t know how to answer this question.

“You already know what is happening,” He simply announced, directing his eyes away from the other man.

“My friend, I only know a small part of the story,” He replied, and the tenderness in his voice caught the human shadow off guard.

He took a moment to find his words.

Then, he groaned.

To his ears, it sounded more akin to a growl.

Cypher wasn’t one to get intimidated by his noises, however.

“That bad, eh ?” He chuckled, and Omen could feel himself relax ever so slightly.

The man dressed in white sat down in front of him, but the one dressed in black didn’t look in his direction.

They both stayed there, silent. 

He recognised it as the little game they liked to do.

See who would speak first, and about what.

The controller sighed.

“What would you do,” He finally spoke, still not meeting the other’s gaze.

“Hm ?” 

“In my situation. What would you do ?” He repeated, finally glancing at him.

The man didn’t answer immediately.

“You know how I am with information, my quiet shadow,” He replied after a while longer. At the lack of reactions from him, he decided to continue ; “Find answers to your questions by yourself, do not rely on someone else to give them to you,” He added, his eyes turning soft.

Or well, as soft as they could be with his mask.

He nodded absentmindedly.

Sometimes, the sentinel would call him “his little shadow” as an endearing pet name.

He had to admit…

He didn’t mind it.

Sometimes even, that nickname put him at peace.

Or something close to it.

“I will… Give this report to Viper,” He announced, slowly getting up.

He really didn’t want to do it.

“Good luck, my friend,” Cypher retorted, his eyes not leaving his figure.

When Iso first laid eyes on you, he was smitten.

And when your eyes met…

He knew he wouldn’t be able to forget about you. 

Ever.

But you didn’t seem to reciprocate his feelings.

If anything, you seemed nervous around him.

He knew he was a bit intimidating, with his resting frown.

So, he admired you from afar, not wanting to ruin his chances with you.

It was only natural for him when he saved your life during a mission with his ultimate.

Killing the mirror agent, he locked eyes with yours when he got out of his kill contract.

The look you gave him stunned him into place.

It was…

Full.

Of admiration, of gratitude… Of adoration.

It felt his heart flutter.

It made his mind buzz.

It brought blood to his face.

He wanted to experience those feelings again.

As much as he could.

Every day.

He would do anything for that.

It was simple, really.

You looked at him this way when he saved your life.

So he would do it again.

It started off mild.

He would just watch over you from afar, always not too far away from you during missions.

If you noticed, you didn’t comment on it.

The only time you acknowledged it was when you glanced back at him as he shot in the head the enemy you were fighting.

It wasn’t like before.

It was questioning, curious.

He found that he didn’t mind.

Your curiosity was endearing.

Cute.

He quickly realised then how much he truly loved you.

Everything about you was addicting.

And he kept yearning for more.

Every one of your glance shot his way made his heart skip a bit.

—

The first time he felt jealous was when he heard you laugh with another agent.

It shouldn’t have affected him that much.

It shouldn’t even affect him at all.

Yet here he was, glaring at Clove, the agent you were talking to.

Silently, he walked up to you from behind, still shooting daggers towards the controller.

When they finally noticed him, they paled ever so slightly, and bid their goodbyes to you rather quickly.

You didn’t turn around, however.

Why weren’t you ?

Did you hate him ?

But he loved and protected you-

You turned around, and jumped slightly at the sight of him.

“Iso !” You exclaimed, bringing a shaking hand to your heart. “You scared me, I didn’t even notice you,” You announced, relaxing at the sight of him. “What’s up ?” You asked, slowly blinking at him.

He didn’t – couldn’t, he found out – answer you.

The both of you didn’t speak to each other a ton.

And yet, every time you did…

Well, he was left speechless.

“I like how you did your hair today,” He announced, a bit too abruptly in his tastes.

You deserved gentleness and adoration, not brutality and impatience.

You didn’t seem to mind however, as you blushed ever so slightly and avoided his watchful gaze.

He found out that he quite liked that look.

It made him want to protect you even more.

“Oh, thanks ! I didn’t think anybody would notice…” You admitted, sheepish.

“I tend to notice the smaller details,” He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Of course he did.

He was, after all, a pretty observant individual.

Especially when it was about you.

You had a small smile.

It still made his heart skip a beat.

—

The second time Iso saved you, it was amidst the heat of battle.

He had swiftly killed his counterpart that was aiming at you from behind, and you gasped when the bullet had cut your cheek.

When he noticed that he had hurt you, he thought you were never going to forgive him.

Even though it was to save your life.

… You probably didn’t love him, did you ?

You didn’t even acknowledge him – he doubted you even knew where he was – and proceeded on with the battle.

He continued watching over you from his high vantage point, reticule sometimes on you, or on the angle you were about to peek from.

It was fine.

It was fine that you didn’t like him back.

It was fine that he could only watch you from afar.

He would keep protecting you like he always had done.

You both do not speak to each other besides giving call outs.

Because of how upset he was, he ended up killing almost all of the enemies.

Almost.

The one who was still alive was Clove’s mirror agent.

He remembered the jealousy, the envy that he felt when they made you laugh.

Yu was now hunting.

He had a small, sadistic laugh when he spotted them.

They were about to pay.

He didn’t really care that it wasn’t really them.

He decided to sneak up on them.

Once he judged he was close enough, he stabbed them in the back.

Not once.

Not twice.

Not even thrice.

He honestly lost count at how many times his knife went into their body.

He vaguely remembered they were immortal.

He grew more violent with every one of his strikes.

The sound of your footsteps brought him back to reality.

You shouldn’t be seeing him like this.

He couldn’t allow you to see him like this.

So he cut his session short.

Shame, he was oddly enjoying himself.

He appeared around the corner, and you visibly jumped.

It didn’t take you long to start panicking, however.

“Iso ! Are you alright ? What happened ? I sure hope this isn’t your blood-” You said, checking at him all over.

A small chuckle escaped his lips.

You were so adorable.

“I am fine, don’t worry,” He said, his hands twitching.

He really wanted to cup your cheek and make you look him in the eyes.

But he was dirtied by the blood of the filth, so he shall refrain.

For now.

You were visibly relieved at his words.

“By the way,” You stated, locking gaze with him. “Thank you for killing that enemy earlier. I have yet to be revived by Sage and I am not looking forward to it…” You said, sheepish.

He smiled at you, feeling his heart burst with love.

—

Iso remembered the first time he stole from you.

It was harmless, really. 

He was in your room while you were away taking a shower, and he was quietly observing and taking notes of your belongings.

There was a shirt lying on your bed, it looked worn but… Not enough to be dirty.

He took it and immediately was met with your pleasant smell.

Your entire room did, but it was more… Prominent in this shirt.

He brought it to his face and deeply inhaled.

As he felt his heart burst with happiness and love, he made a decision.

He would borrow this shirt of yours for a bit, then give it back to you.

There was no harm, no foul.

He wouldn’t dream of hurting you, after all.

He knew your shower was about to end, so he quietly exited your room with his prize in hand.

From that point on, he made it a habit.

Every week on average – the days were different – he would come into your room and take a shirt while giving back the one he took previously.

It was a fun game for him, trying not to be spotted while actively stealing from you.

One day, he stumbled upon a shirt he saw you wear a lot.

Your scent was all over it.

He knew it must’ve been one of your favourites.

He wanted to take it but…

He was hesitating.

Taking it might mean hurting you emotionally.

And Yu didn’t want that to happen.

So, despite all his desires to do so, didn’t borrow it.

When he noticed you wearing it the next day, all happy and glowing, he smiled to himself.

He definitely took the right decision then.

—

Iso remembered when he first started following you around.

“Hey Iso !” You called out to him, which surprised him.

He usually was the first one to start the conversation.

He turned to face you, arching an eyebrow quietly.

“Have you seen my graphic tee ? The purple drawing one,” You questioned and described, locking eyes with him.

He knew which one you were talking about.

He borrowed it the other day.

“Ah, I see the one that you mean. No, I haven’t seen it, I’m sorry,” He lied, shrugging nonchalantly.

You seemed bummed, and he had a slight frown.

“Shame. I wanted to wear it on an outing with Gekko…” You announced, pouting.

He felt blood drain his face.

“An outing ?” He repeated, doing his best to make his tone even.

“Yeah, he invited me to watch a movie, and I talked about this shirt to him. I wanted to wear it, but for some reason, I can’t find it anywhere…” You explained, sighing.

“So you’re going to cancel ?” He asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

“Huh ? No, I’m just going to wear something else,” You replied, shrugging.

He had to keep himself in check to not reveal just how angry he was.

Iso forced a smile.

“Hope you have fun !” He said, nodding.

“Thank you, we will !” You smiled at him.

He couldn’t help but feel so incredibly jealous.

He saved your life numerous times and he barely gets a “thank you”.

But Gekko could invite you to the movies ?

He would have none of it.

He was pissed.

So, he observed you from afar, waiting for the “outing” to begin.

And he knew it was time when you met up with the Latino agent, all dressed up.

You looked very cute.

He didn’t like that one bit.

He quietly followed you both, and you were none the wiser.

You genuinely seemed to enjoy your time, and the initiator was clearly flirting with you.

Why did you enjoy his attention more than his ?

He didn’t love you like he did.

He wasn’t worthy like he was.

Iso squeezed his fist so hard it drew blood.

… Right.

He was going to make him bleed.

He kept following you nonetheless.

Even watched the film, however he was more paying attention to you both than anything.

The American got… Pretty handsy with you.

Wrapping his arm around your shoulders, teasing you, making you laugh.

It made his blood boil.

Despite his feelings – he had seen enough in his opinion – he wanted to make sure that Gekko didn’t go any further than that.

He followed you until you were both back at HQ.

He will make him pay for his transgressions.

He swore it.

—

Thankfully for Iso, the next mission apparently included the enemy Gekko.

He smiled sadistically as he spotted said mirror agent.

He suddenly had a plan.

Once again, he followed the Omega agent and waited for him to be alone.

When he was, he spoke up.

“Are you ready to suffer and die, Gekko ?” He questioned, which made his interlocutor jump.

He whipped around, ready to shoot him, but before he could…

He lodged a bullet in his hand, which made the enemy cry out in pain as he let go of his weapon.

“You didn’t answer my question,” He spat angrily.

The Latino was too busy whimpering and fighting for his life as he pulled out his handgun, trying the same thing once again.

His smile widened as he shot his other hand, the bullet also knocking out the weapon.

He screamed in agony.

Good.

He wanted this guy to suffer.

He roughly grabbed his jaw to make him look him in the eyes, which he eventually did.

“I said ; are you ready to suffer and die, Gekko ?” He repeated himself, his smile dangerous.

“Fuck… You…” The agent cursed, pain clear in his tone and eyes.

He scoffed, squeezing the bones even more.

Gekko hissed, his gaze defiant.

Maybe he’d enjoy killing this one more…

He knew he had to unfortunately make it quick.

Even though he wanted to take his time.

Pulling out his knife, he played with it for a second or two.

He didn’t wait much longer before stabbing both of the agent’s eyes with them, effectively blinding him.

He screamed so loudly, and for so long, that Iso had to wait oh so patiently for him to stop whining.

“That was because you looked at them,” He declared, playing around with his now bloodied weapon.

“Who even is ‘they’ ?” The filth asked, shaking from the pure pain he was feeling.

As he asked this question, the Chinese agent roughly grabbed the tip of his tongue.

He said your name, smiling idly to himself.

“They are everything to me,” He confessed, leaning towards the enemy. “And you,” He continued, tugging the limb more outwards. “Have no rights to talk to them.”

Before he could reply with anything his mind full of pain could come up with, the ex-Scion of Hourglass agent cut his tongue clean off.

“Don’t choke with your own blood, you’ll die when I say you can,” He spat with disgust as he watched the vomit of the red liquid dirty his shoes.

He clicked his own tongue in frustration.

Wiping off the blood on his blade as well as taking one small step back, he looked at his work so far.

That disgusting creature was wailing in agony.

He wasn’t done, however.

With one swift strike for each ear, he cut them off cleanly.

He didn’t know how, but somehow, its screams got even louder.

“That is because you heard their laughter,” He announced, squinting his eyes.

It didn’t seem to be able to hear him.

He didn’t care, though.

Although he should’ve gone for the vocal cords, he thought idly.

Maybe then it would shut up.

… He was curious as to how high pitched, long or even loud that thing could scream for.

He still had some messages to pass on, after all.

As he grabbed its right hand – the thing’s dominant one, he remembered – and asked, oh so patiently ;

“You touched them, too. How many fingers should I cut off for that, you think ?” 

Immediately, as the final words escaped his lips, it started to beg.

Or so he thought, because well…

Its tongue was no more.

At the lack of answers, it started crying.

As he grabbed its thumb, it wailed even harder.

“Which finger would you cut if it meant you’d be able to sleep with them ?” He asked as he looked at its trembling limbs. “Move the one you want me to dismember,” He continued, his smile frozen into place.

At first, there was no movement but the violent shake of the smaller limbs.

Then, hesitantly, it moved its middle finger.

Iso cut it off immediately.

It screamed so loudly he wondered how it still had the lung capacity to do so.

Grabbing it by its short hair, he brought it up to its feet.

Leaning into its bloodied left ear, he whispered as he stabbed it in the stomach ;

“And that, is because you had the guts to ask them out.”

He twisted the knife as it coughed up blood, snarling in pain.

He continually turned the knife around, as the creature kept spewing out more and more blood.

“Die,” He finally said, and after a few moments, the weight of its body rested on him, limp and getting colder by the second.

Satisfied, he pushed its lifeless body unceremoniously.

Suddenly, his comm came alive.

“Iso, where are you ? We won, we’re waiting for you at the rendezvous point,” Sage announced, worry clear in her tone.

“I’m coming,” He simply said, his voice even as he looked down at his artwork.

Today was a good day.

—

Yu remembered the first time he kissed you.

He wasn’t having a good day, feeling ignored by you.

Every time he tried to strike a conversation, you’d freeze and find any and all excuses to not have to say a word to him.

At first, he found it endearing.

Now, he found it aggravating.

He thought that, maybe, just maybe…

You had found out about his little… Activities.

He prayed to anything that was holy for it to not be the case but…

He couldn’t rule that out.

To make matters worse, he was assigned on a mission alongside you.

So, he made a plan.

He will make sure that you would not escape him.

No matter what.

He was in too deep, too enthralled by your mere presence.

Somehow, you were both defending the same site, fighting side by side.

He didn’t even have to think as he finished off the last one of the Omega agents, you turned to face him.

Without any warning, you suddenly whipped out your knife and lounged for him, and he froze.

You’ve never done that before.

Were you about to kill him ?

…

Was it weird that he’d be fine to be killed by your hands ?

He’d actually love that-

A slashing sound was heard, and he felt a warm liquid spilling on him.

He immediately recognised it as blood.

Though there was something else.

You.

You were so close to him.

You two had never been in this much proximity before this very moment.

He could smell you.

He could make out every detail of your features.

He notices a splatter of blood on your lovely face.

Without thinking, he brings a hand to your cheek and wipes it with his thumb.

You lock eyes.

He could feel his heartbeat pumping out of his chest.

It was deafening.

His eyes tracked down to your mouth, and he didn't even think of his next move.

He just leaned in and captured your lips with his.

You were quick to reciprocate, wrapping your hands around his neck and bringing him closer to you.

His hands rested firmly on your hips as he felt overwhelmed by his own happiness.

As he deepened the kiss, you gasped softly.

After a while, he separated himself begrudgingly, needing air.

The look you gave him was enough for him to know.

You loved him, too.

Their mission went well.

Killjoy and her team had successfully prevented the spike from going off once again, and were now preparing to leave the premises.

On her way out of the field, she noticed something on the ground.

It was inconspicuous, really.

The german thought it’d be a good piece of evidence to study to figure out the enemy’s pattern and especially technology.

The answers to those questions were scarce, after all.

Her teammates thought nothing of it, as well.

Barely sparing her a glance as they walked towards the Falcon.

She kept toying with the small object on her way back – barely bigger than her palm – by turning it around and trying to figure out how the small piece of tech worked.

She was even tinkering with it during the debrief, much to the curiosity of Cypher, but he didn’t pipe a single word towards the younger agent.

Once done with the meeting, she headed straight towards her and Raze’s lab, making a bee line for her desk and immediately sitting down.

Pulling out her Radianite levels detector, she soon found out that the object had abnormally high concentrations to said element.

There was also some kind of mechanism to release that amount of energy outward.

Kind of like….

“A bomb,” She muttered, her heart going straight to her stomach.

She felt herself panic, but she forced herself to calm down.

Losing her shit would not help anybody.

She could disarm it, but she didn’t possess any of the right tools in her lab, all of them being over in Germany.

Killjoy then made a decision right then and there.

There was no need to alert everybody.

Or anyone.

No-one had to know.

She would just go out, head to Germany and then come back to fix her newfound problem.

That felt like a sound plan.

Nodding to herself, she went ahead and left the device on her desk.

Surely, nobody would mess with it.

The chances of it going off unprompted were also very low.

“Klara !” Her girlfriend called out to her.

She froze, tensing as her eyes went wide.

“What’s up, Tayane ?” She turned around to face her lover.

“We wanted to watch some series after your mission, remember ?” The Mexican reminded her, and the brunette had a strained smile.

“Oh yeah ! In a bit though, I need to get something in Germany really fast, I promise I’ll be right back !” She replied, trying her best not to appear suspicious to her girlfriend.

After a moment of holding each other’s gaze, the chaotic techie nodded, although visibly bummed.

Killjoy’s smile turned sheepish and apologetic.

“I’m sorry my little mouse, I promise I’ll make it up to you,” She promised as she took her partner’s hands into hers.

Raze had a small smile, nodding in understanding.

“See you in a bit then,” She announced, stepping away. “I’ll be in the lab when you come back,” She said, smiling from ear to ear.

The German softened.

God, did she love that woman.

Now boarding one of the many planes, she directed the pilot to Germany.

Napping during the flight, she only awoke when the plane landed in Frankfurt, and drove the rest of the way to her place.

It didn’t take her very long to get what she needed and wanted to mitigate the situation back at HQ.

She may have driven a bit too fast on her way back, and might have gotten a ticket…

But at least, it would’ve been worth it.

She considered getting her girlfriend a gift from Germany, but the matter was too urgent.

She’ll find another way to make her forgive her over her lateness.

The ride back home was uneventful.

The pilot offhandedly mentioned that he couldn’t establish a connection to HQ, but they both weren’t worried.

The landing was smooth, though she had to manually open the doors for the small Falcon to enter.

This should’ve been her warning sign.

Something was off, and she knew it.

She just didn’t realise just how wrong.

When the door opened, she at least expected to be welcomed by her girlfriend or hear the chatter of her colleagues.

Instead, silence greeted her..

Killjoy had to admit, the absence of… Everything was off putting.

She didn’t have the gut to step outside of the aircraft.

The pilot, noticing her uneasiness, walked up to her.

“Is it always this quiet ?” He asked, shifting from side to side.

She shook her head.

“Not this quiet, and especially not around this time,” She answered, an awkward smile gracing her lips.

The man nodded, getting his guard up.

“Be weary, then,” He announced, walking out of the vehicle.

She followed his steps, looking around.

The air also felt different.

As if it was… Missing something.

When she walked into the lounge, she audibly gasped.

Bodies were laying on the ground, unmoving.

She immediately went to investigate the cause of death.

From a quick look, it was as if…

Their life has been drained from them.

However, Reyna was among the victims, so it couldn’t have been her…

Unless it was Omega Earth’s.

But there were no intruder alerts…

The German was soon joined by the man, who stayed silent behind her.

She was too distressed to notice him at first.

When she did, she sniffled and wiped the small tears as she took a deep breath, before focusing on the task at hand.

She needed to figure out what had happened here.

As she moved around the HQ, the pilot – that she realised she didn’t know the name of – followed her like a quiet shadow.

She assumed he was looking out for her, making sure she wouldn’t die like the others she has found so far.

She hoped there were at least survivors to whatever had happened here.

Klara audibly gasped when she found Cypher’s lifeless form in the kitchen.

She choked out a few sobs, and couldn't fathom the doom that had happened in her short absence.

Gently, she took the Moroccan's hand and held it, crying quietly.

She was sorry she couldn’t help him – or any of them – in their time of need.

Drying her cheeks as she stood up, she quietly bid her goodbyes.

“Is anyone here ? Can you hear me ?” She called out, desperation clear in her tone.

She just wished that there were survivors.

She did not know what she would do if there were none.

She made her way to her and Raze’s lab, barely containing her whimpers.

She broke down when she saw her lover on the floor, unmoving.

“Tayane ?” She softly called out, feeling her hope dying as reality dawned on her.

No answer.

She made a cautious step towards her girlfriend, her trembling hands reaching out for her.

“Ma’am,” The pilot called out. “Look at what she’s holding,” He indicated, nodding towards said limb.

The German did as told, and she saw the little trinket she picked up during the mission.

It was opened.

Blood left her face.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

The HQ being littered with bodies, them being drained of all life…

It was due to the bomb.

The bomb that she brought here.

It was her fault.

“I never wanted it to go like this.”

She started repeating herself, sensing herself spiralling.

“I’m sorry, I’m s-sorry, I’m so-so sorry-'' She started sobbing uncontrollably, curling on herself.

A voice called out to her.

She barely registered it.

Killjoy jumped however when a hand gently landed on her shoulder.

Turning around, the man that had been silently following her was holding her gaze firmly.

“Their lives might be lost, but not the Protocol. Their lives shall not be taken away in vain,” He announced, his warm hand squeezing her trembling shoulder.

She took a moment to take his words in.

Nodding, she slowly got up on her feet.

“Yeah, you’re right…” She paused, realising she still hadn’t enquired him about his name. “How can I call you ?”

He had a small smile.

“Luke, ma’am,” Luke answered, nodding.

“Klara,” She said, forcing herself to smile back.

“Is there anybody that might have survived this ?” The pilot questioned, tilting his head.

She didn’t answer immediately.

“Maybe Clove ? They are immortal, after all…” She replied thoughtfully.

“Do you know where they are ?” He retorted, looking around.

“We can try to find them,” She said, sniffling.

And so, they explored the rest of the place.

Soon enough, they both found their body lying down in the training room, and Luke deflated.

“I guess we’re the only survivors…” He announced.

“Clove ? Clove, wake up,” The German agent said, ignoring the pilot as she nudged their form.

“Klara, it’s no use-” He cut himself as the Scottish person stirred.

“Few more minutes…” They mumbled, frowning.

“Clove, we need you. Everyone died,” She chose to ignore how her voice cracked at the end.

To that announcement, the sleepy agent immediately got up.

“What ??” They shouted, frantically looking around.

At the scene around them, their shoulders slumped.

“I thought this wouldn’t happen here…” They whispered, sounding defeated.

“I’m sorry,” Killjoy apologised, feeling herself tear up.

“What happened ?” They questioned. “I remember training, then a flash of white, and then… Nothing,” They recounted, seemingly genuinely confused.

“There was a bomb in here. Much like the spike of Omega Earth.” She started, not meeting their eyes.

“How did it even get here ?” Luke rightfully questioned.

“I… I brought it here. I didn’t know at first, I honestly thought it’d be good for us to know more about Omega’s technologies…” Klara started, and they both listened intensely. “When I figured it out, I thought I didn’t need to alert anyone, because it didn’t seem like a major threat. I thought I could just… Get it defused without anybody knowing,” She continued, playing with her fingers.

None of them answered her at first, processing the new information.

She didn’t disturb the silence, too anxious to think of anything to say.

It was her fault.

Nothing would change that.

“You tried to right your wrongs, and are doing so even now,” Announced Luke, as if reading her thoughts.

“Yeah. I am upset, but I don’t think I would’ve done a better job in your situation…” Confirmed Clove, nodding alongside the pilot.

She felt herself tear up.

“I am so sorry…” She apologised, immediately starting to sob uncontrollably.

She repeated herself between whimpers.

She felt gentle arms wrapping around her, and a hand on her head, softly patting her.

It only made her cry harder.

They all stayed this way, silent and comforting, until her sobs quieted down to hiccups.

Slowly, Clove separated themselves from her and Luke retracted his hand.

She sniffled, her lips perking up just a bit when she met eyes with each of them.

“Thank you, thank you for everything…” She said, drying her cheeks.

Suddenly, the Scottish agent perked up, as if they had remembered something.

“Omen is also still alive,” They announced, matter of factly.

Right, the agent was away to… Find himself.

Figure out who he was.

Breaking the news to him would be more than complex in a lot of ways.

“Do you have any ways to contact him ?” Luke asked, bringing the German out of her thoughts.

“I can try, yeah…” They answered, seemingly hesitant.

The hooded agent didn’t want to be contacted, she remembered.

“We need him,” She retorted, hoping to sound convincing.

“Right. I’ll call him,” They complied, getting up and walking away.

Klara and the pilot both waited in a comfortable silence while the younger agent made the attempt.

When Clove came back, they nodded towards the duo, the smallest of smiles gracing their features.

“He’s going to be here as soon as possible,” They said.

“What does he know ?” She anxiously enquired.

“What you told me,” They replied, shrugging.

Nodding solemnly, she felt the knot in her stomach tighten.

She hoped he could forgive her.

—

It didn’t take him very long to come back to HQ.

When he did, he looked more than distraught…

… And she wasn’t known to be able to read him well.

“Where is Cypher ?” He questioned, worry bleeding through his voice as he frantically looked around him.

“He… He died like the rest of them. We’re all that’s left,” Killjoy announced, not looking at him.

When she did finally glance in his direction, he was unmoving.

Taking it in.

“Can I… See him ?” He hesitantly asked, clearly unsure if he wanted to see the sentinel’s lifeless body.

“Yeah,” She agreed, guiding him to the kitchen.

Omen froze at the sight.

“I’ll leave you two alone, come back when you are ready for it,” She said as she turned around.

When she came back to the remainder of the small group, she realised that she hadn’t offered Clove to say their goodbyes to the agents.

“I can guide you to everybody, if you’d like me to,” She offered to the agent.

“Where is Gekko ?” They questioned after a moment of silence.

Guiding them towards the American, Killjoy then left them to be alone in their mourning and goodbyes.

She heard a choked sob as she stepped away.

Sighing, she sat down next to Luke, who was quietly looking at her.

She sent him a questioning glance.

“And you ?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. At the lack of answers, he explained himself further ; “Have you said your goodbyes ?”

She didn’t say anything at first, thinking about how to word it.

“No, but I will do so when we have time for it,” She replied truthfully.

“And when will that be ?” He pressed, arching an eyebrow.

She sighed.

“I don’t really know.”

They both fell silent after that.

“And you ?” She wondered, locking eyes with his. “Do you have anyone you want to say goodbye to ?” She continued, studying his reaction.

His face became unreadable, and he didn’t answer immediately.

“I’ll be fine,” He finally announced, breaking eye contact.

For once, Klara knew better than to push it.

“Are we… Going to be okay ?” She asked, resisting the urge to curl on herself.

“… Yeah,” The pilot answered, his gaze locking into something in the distance.

She nodded her head absentmindedly.

She felt like she was slowly losing her mind as the silence kept going on.

She missed Phoenix’s and Yoru’s banter.

She wanted to hear Raze’s never ending music.

She craved to listen to Cypher and Omen’s idle chatter.

She wanted to give her two cents to Gekko and Deadlock’s many fights.

The more time passed, the more she realised she couldn’t have that anymore.

“Killjoy ?” Omen called out, bringing her back to reality.

Snapping her head towards the agent, her eyes questioning.

He stared back, silent.

He ended up clearing his throat, breaking eye contact.

“You are crying,” He simply said, still not looking at her.

Was she ?…

She brought fingertips to her cheek, realising that he was right as they felt wet.

“Oh, sorry,” She muttered an apology, sniffling loudly.

If he heard her was unknown to her, since he didn’t acknowledge her words.

She knew he wasn’t good with emotions, so she didn’t comment on it.

Even though she really, really wanted to.

—

A few weeks had passed since that day.

Slowly, everybody was recovering and mourning the loss of their friends and partners.

Even though it was quiet in the HQ, Killjoy felt like nobody was really lonely or even fully alone.

Omen even spent time with all of them, quietly knitting while her and Clove nerded out about their hobbies.

Luke, while being more to himself, still spent time with the group, being a nice addition to the small list of agents.

Nobody felt like sleeping alone, and she agreed.

Being surrounded by silence, her thoughts being the only sounds she heard, didn’t seem like a great time or even like a good idea.

That was why she was surrounded by her friends, all sleeping peacefully on the floor in the lounge.

Well, all but her and Omen.

He was quietly watching over the ones who were knocked out, sometimes locking eyes with the sentinel.

She couldn’t sleep, her mind for some reason running a thousand miles an hour.

She couldn’t even keep track of all of her thoughts, a cacophony of sounds, noises, and words.

She had attempted to sleep it off, to no avail.

She glanced at the remainder of the group, all untroubled by her woes.

Even though she hated this current predicament, it didn’t really matter to her that much.

She thought back about the past few weeks.

The first few were miserable for everybody, and they were isolating themselves from one another.

Klara didn’t really know when they started all hanging out together.

But once they did, she immediately felt the switch in everyone’s mood.

Everyone was happier, more at peace.

Clove once offered to do a movie night, and at first, only she wanted to join them.

But as the preparations went on, Luke decided to help out.

By the time the movie had started, Omen was found silently knitting while it was playing.

She didn’t remember the film.

If she were honest, she couldn’t even remember its title.

What she could recall however, were the feelings.

She made sure to memorialise every single one of them.

The way Clove was fast asleep, their head resting on her laps, Luke not far from being in the same state on her shoulder.

The quiet tinkering of Omen knitting on his chair, her and him both knowing they weren’t paying that much attention to the story that was playing for them.

Ever since that night, it became a ritual.

It became apparent to her that each of her friends had a preference for preparing what.

Clove adored setting the ambiance with decorations and narrations, always hyping up each movie they were going to watch.

Omen was clearly working on a gigantic blanket for all of them, if she could trust the dimensions of what he was knitting.

Luke was the one always responsible for snacks and keeping track of everyone’s favourites ; sometimes even bringing new ones for everyone to try out.

The German hadn’t talked about expanding the team back then.

She had thought it was too early.

Right now, she still thought the same.

The wounds were too fresh ; the fear was still too present.

Maybe one day, they’ll be able to accept new members.

That would be nice.

She nodded to herself as she felt her eyes heavy with tiredness.

She fell into dreamless slumber.

—

Dear Tayane,

I know it has been a few months since your passing, but I only now found the courage and mentality to write to you.

I first want to say I miss you oh so very much.

The Valorant Protocol is now back on its feet, and now works like a well oil machine.

Everybody gets along…

Relatively well together.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it had always been this way.

… I still remember you and everybody else, though.

It really all started when Clove met a radiant woman when they were outside of HQ.

She obviously needed help, and was a war veteran.

After an in-depth look at her profile, she was deemed fit to join the protocol.

Following that, other agents quickly found their way in, one way or another.

Everybody is just so… Different. In a good way, of course !

I love every single one of them, and will protect them no matter the cost.

The VP is back to normal…

… But the only thing missing is you.

I love you, my little mouse.

Always did, always will.

It wasn’t until the main light in the laboratory was turned on that you realised you had been working on this project all night long. 

You winced while slowly turning to whoever entered the room, which was found to be Killjoy, clearly not expecting you to be still in your common workspace.

“Say…” The sentinel started, hesitant. “You didn’t spend your entire night here, ja ?” She continued, realisation daunting her.

“You already know the answer to that, don’t you ?” You replied, shrugging.

You couldn’t help the small smile creeping on your lips.

She said your name, berating.

“You know you can’t keep doing that ! If you need an upgrade so bad for your legs, you could ask us to help you,” She continued, walking quickly towards you.

You chuckled nervously.

“I know, I know. I just know what I want and how I want it, so it’s hard to ask for help,” You answered, awkwardly stepping to the side.

The noise of your current legs made you wince.

The agent seemed to soften at that, and she sighed.

“That’s alright, but please, take a break. Do you want me to get you your wheelchair ?” She asked, almost rhetorically since she was already going in the direction of it.

It was your turn to sigh.

You knew she didn’t mean to patronise you, but it still felt like it. 

“Yeah, I could use a break from walking,” You admitted, choosing not to say anything about the gesture.

It just wasn’t worth the battle.

Killjoy brought you your mobility aid, and once comfortably seated, you rolled yourself towards the lounge, already knowing you’d need a strong coffee to keep yourself awake for the day.

“Hello,” Greeted KAY/O, who got up from his armchair when he saw you. 

“Hi,” You replied, a small smile gracing your lips. 

Rolling over to the counters, you remembered that you put your favourite mug in the top counters and not in the ones under the table, and you sighed, cursing under your breath.

“Something wrong ?” The robot questioned, his voice coming from behind you.

Did you not hear him walk because you were so sleep deprived ?

“My mug is in one of the counters up top, and I would get it if my legs weren’t currently killing me,” You explained, your voice even despite the pain.

You were used to those, after all.

“Could you get the black one ?” You asked, turning to him to the best of your capabilities without turning your wheelchair.

“The one with the coding ?” He answered, meeting your gaze.

Or at least you thought he was doing that.

After your nod, he carefully navigated around you to get to the right cupboard, taking out the cup you were referring to.

You smiled, thankful.

“Thank you ! Now let’s brew some five something espresso shots…” You said, going over to the coffee machine.

“No sleep ?” He observed needlessly.

Brimstone was rubbing off him, you thought absentmindedly. 

“Yeah,” You confirmed nonchalantly.

“You know that’s not good for you,” He stated, and you could tell that he was still looking at you expectantly.

“Yeah,” You repeated yourself, pouring the first shot.

“Why do you keep doing it ?” 

You paused mid movement for a split second.

You didn’t mean to – human’s micro expressions and all – but you knew that he noticed.

“I don’t really see the time pass by when I’m focused,” You answered semi-honestly.

Silence filled the room.

For a while, only the coffee machine’s whirring would be the one filling the silence.

Finally, after what felt like ages, the initiator spoke again : 

“I see.”

And the silence was back.

Once your coffee was done, you decided to just chug it down in one go.

You didn’t have the patience – or the attention span – to continuously sip on it today.

When you met eyes with KAY/O again…

Well.

“Alright, what’s wrong ?” You questioned, wanting to have a confirmation on your inkling.

“You’ve been disregarding your health this week,” He observed, which made you chuckle dryly.

“What’s new ?” You broke eye contact.

“What’s wrong ?” He interrogated, suddenly very much closer than before.

You weren’t used to the robot being this much in your personal space.

He hardly was in anyone’s.

He always was the one to respect your personal space and to manage the fine balance between being concerned and wanting to help while not being patronising.

You’ve always loved that about him.

… You’ve always loved him, too, if you were honest. 

From the day you were admitted to the Protocol, to the day you lost your legs…

Which wasn’t as far back as you’d like it to be.

You knew that Sage could restore your limbs.

You still didn’t really know why you refused her offer.

Maybe it was because you lost them while protecting your teammates.

Or maybe it was because you wanted to use yourself as a guinea pig.

Whichever the reason, you stuck to it.

The sound of something shattering brought you out of your thoughts.

“Are you okay ?” The initiator questioned.

It took you a while to answer as you stared at your now broken mug.

“Yeah,” You finally answered, realising you’ve been silent for too long.

“Let me throw that away for you,” He announced, and you felt yourself panic.

“No it’s okay ! I can repair it, please don’t throw it away,” You rushed to say, your anxiety seeping through. 

He froze, slowly looking back up to you.

“Understood,” KAY/O replied, nodding. “Let me at least gather them together and make sure you don’t cut yourself handling the pieces,” He continued, resuming his actions, more carefully this time.

“While you do that, I am going to gather my tools,” You announced, slowly rolling back out of the kitchen to go to your room.

You didn’t linger in there however, as you just wanted to get the kintsugi kit that you’ve been meaning to try to use. 

Once that was acquired, you went back to the lounge, taking a place at one of the tables. 

Your robot friend then came next to you and gently put down the broken pieces of your mug.

And so, quietly, you went to work, slowly glueing the broken edges to make the cup whole again.

“What are you doing ?” KAY/O questioned, peeking over your shoulder.

“I’m fixing my mug,” You replied, giving him a brief glance before resuming your task.

Silence filled the air between the two of you until the robot spoke once again.

“Why are you colouring the cracks ? Don’t you want to hide how broken it is ?” He asked curiously, but you knew he also didn’t truly understand.

“It may be broken, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not beautiful anymore,” You said, your own voice feeling distant.

Was this why you didn’t want to get your limbs back ?

… You didn’t know. 

You weren’t sure if you wanted to find out, if you were honest. 

“Do you want any help ?” The initiator beside you spoke up, looking at your hands working on the task.

The proximity made your cheeks warm. 

“I’m fine, thank you. I kinda like doing it,” You admitted, your blush growing stronger.

If KAY/O noticed, he didn’t comment.

“Alright,” He simply acknowledged, not moving from his position.

You could feel his system’s gentle warmth radiating and heating up your body.

Your hands slightly shook due to just how nervous you were about the situation, forcing you to focus more on your task to avoid mishaps. 

Which was proving to be harder than it needed to be.

“Your hands are shaking,” The robot observed, turning his head towards you.

You knew he was studying you.

“And you’re very red,” He continued, just as matter of factly. 

How were you even supposed to answer that without giving yourself away ?

Thankfully, you were almost done with glueing the pieces back, only needing a few more minutes.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” You replied, your voice somehow even. “I’m just in a bit more pain than normal.”

You cursed your voice wavering. 

You were not a good liar.

Probably sensing how uncomfortable you were with the topic, he dropped it.

“Be sure to take care of yourself,” He said, before looking once again at what you were doing.

You simply nodded, smiling to yourself.

He was just so caring.

A few days had passed since then, and you had made great progress with your new prosthetic legs…

However, you couldn’t say the same for your sleep.

You often found yourself waking up at your desk with a blanket on your shoulders.

You never got to find out who was your little caregiver, but you were glad they always got out of their way to do those small gestures.

You were trying out your new legs when the door to the laboratory opened.

Since your back was facing the entrance, you didn’t know who it was.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just trying out my legs and seeing if I need to do any changes. I may ask for your opinions later, though !” You said, assuming it was either Killjoy or Raze.

“How is that coming along ?” KAY/O’s voice answered you, making you jump slightly. 

You awkwardly turned to him, obviously not acclimated to your limbs. 

“It’s… Going. Hard to say if it’s any good until I finish my therapy…” You admitted, suddenly self-conscious.

He nodded, studying you.

“I came here to let you know to be ready in case of today’s mission going south,” He announced solemnly.

This made you pause.

He wanted you to repair him ?

Normally, he always asked Killjoy, since she was the best technician in the Protocol as well as the most familiar with his system.

Your bewilderment must’ve been clear on your face, since the robot continued : 

“I thought about what you said when you were repairing your mug,” He started explaining. “I don’t think it would hurt to try,” He continued after a pause, as if he was thinking on how to express himself.

You nodded slowly.

“Sure, but I hope I don’t have to repair you…” You accepted with a light chuckle. “Please try not to get hurt, alright ?” You asked, your worry seeping through your tone.

“Acknowledged,” He replied simply, which didn’t really help your anxiety.

You kept quiet about it, however.

“What’s the mission about ?” You questioned, curious.

“Just a regular mission ; we’re going in two. I just wanted to warn you,” He replied, already heading out.

Before you knew, KAY/O was already on the field.

So you prepared the laboratory, your anxiety too high for you to walk.

You got woken up abruptly by the sound of the door slamming open.

When did you fall asleep ?

More importantly, what was happening ?

Your confusion melted away as soon as you saw the state of your robot friend, instead you felt worry and panic flood in.

“Put him on the table, now,” You ordered, somehow keeping your emotions in check.

You assessed his state.

To say he was beaten down would be an understatement.

You were surprised he was still somewhat conscious, looking at you and holding your gaze.

“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that, right ?” You said, clearly upset as you did your best to weld the leaking systems.

He didn’t answer.

You didn’t know whether to feel relieved or panic even more. 

“Hey,” You said, talking to Brimstone and Breach, who were still in the room with you. “If you’re gonna stay and stare, at least help. Get me some fuel. It’s bright blue with a shift towards purple, you can’t miss it,” You ordered, not even looking at them. 

You immediately heard the men shuffling around. 

Your focus was now fully back on KAY/O, who was still barely responsive.

To say you were worried about your friend would be a massive understatement.

You were terrified.

But you also knew you had to keep your cool otherwise he’d lose his life. 

Repairing him wasn’t easy by far, but you managed to stabilise him. 

Once you had confirmed that he wasn’t in any danger of dying, you sighed in relief, getting to work with replacement parts for him.

But first, you connected him to his energy source, fueling him up while he was “sleeping”. 

When you were sure everything was done right, you turned your back from him and started working on replacing his missing limbs.

You lost track of time of how long you’ve been working on that stupid forearm. Somehow, the hand did not want to cooperate with you.

Thankfully, it wasn’t his dominant shooting hand, so you didn’t have to figure out how KAY/O’s technology worked.

You sighed, leaning back on the wheelchair while rubbing your face.

At this rate, he’d be unable to walk and have a missing arm for a while.

“How is it coming along ?” Your crush spoke up, breaking the silence which made you jump.

You definitely felt your heart skip a beat out of surprise. 

You turned to him once your adrenaline levels came down. 

“You scared me,” You confessed, still clearly shook. 

“Sorry,” He apologised, seemingly sheepish. He was now sitting on the table, observing you. 

 “But it’s… Well. I got your leg somewhat working,” You announced, glancing at said limb.

Repairing it was more of a pain than you’d had imagined.

“As for your arm… Well. It’s a bit of a different story,” You admitted, sheepish and ashamed.

“Can I try it ?” He asked, and you stared, bewildered.

Should you ?

“... Sure,” You shrugged, getting the leg on your lap and rolling to his direction.

Quietly, you handed it to him, allowing him to connect the leg by himself, since he knew how to do it better than you ever would.

He tried it out, moving his hands and bending his fingers.

“Does anything feel off ? Is there anything to fix ?” You questioned, alternating between looking at the arm and him, making sure that everything was at least looking fine.

“It feels fine to me, there may be some fine tuning to do,” He announced, looking at you curiously. “How about you ?” He suddenly enquired, which surprised you.

“Huh ?” You replied intelligently.

“Your legs. Did you get to work on them ?” 

You fell silent, looking away, before realising that you probably had to answer him, and you sighed.

“No, I was too busy with your arm and worrying about making it as perfect as possible that I… Didn’t find the time to do anything,” You said, not meeting his eyes.

He didn’t answer you immediately.

The silence stretched out, making you nervous.

Was he mad ?

Why would he be ?

You did promise to take care of him in case he got hurt during the mission.

“Why ?” He questioned, audibly confused.

“Because you asked me to take care of you,” You replied honestly. “On top of that, missing an arm is way more hindering than missing a leg,” You continued, shrugging.

“Don’t you miss walking ?” He retorted as you heard him shift.

“I do,” You answered, not sure where this conversation was going. “But y’know, some things are just more important than others,” You said, shrugging.

“So I am important to you,” He observed, matter of factly.

You couldn’t help the blush creeping on your cheeks.

“Yeah…” You confirmed, trailing off.

“Are you embarrassed about it ?” He asked, and was that… Worry that you heard in his tone ?

“No ! No, not at all,” You denied immediately, looking back at him. “This is nothing to be embarrassed about,” You continued, fully turning to him.

“Then why are you blushing ?” You froze.

It wasn’t the first time your cheeks went red in his presence, but he never asked why, or anything about it. 

“You keep doing so when I do specific things, and I’ve always wondered why. I’ve asked around but their answers didn’t make any sense,” He continued, bringing you out of your thoughts.

You didn’t want to confirm what you were thinking.

You knew what they said, and the fact that it didn’t make sense to him…

Was all that you needed to know about how he felt about you and your relationship.

It stung, but you were prepared for that.

“Yeah, sometimes humans don’t make sense,” You confirmed after realising that you didn’t answer.

“If your prosthetics are giving you so much trouble, why not ask sage to heal them back ?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, really,” You shrugged. 

He seemed to think for a moment, if you could trust the more intense whirring of his system.

The soft “hum” somehow managed to put your mind at ease.

“Are you projecting this “Kintsugi” thing onto yourself ?” He suddenly blurted, making you pause as your eyes widened.

Was this what was really happening ?

“I… Maybe ?” You said, confused yourself.

You felt KAY/O’s hand gently cup your cheek, making you look at him. 

He said your name firmly, as if he didn’t have your full attention already.

“You are genuinely the most beautiful human I’ve seen,” He admitted, and your cheeks flushed furiously. He wasn’t done, however. “Nothing will ever change that. No matter how broken you are, physically or otherwise.”

You didn’t know how somehow your face got even warmer, but it somehow did.

You were also at a loss for words, feeling yourself get emotional, your vision getting blurry.

The robot seemed genuinely surprised at your reaction, and clearly panicked a little bit. 

You knew he couldn’t handle human emotions very well, so you tried to keep yours in check, but some tears did escape your eyes.

He gently brushed them away, so tenderly it surprised you.

It was as if your feelings for him were reciprocated.

But that really couldn’t be, could it ?

“Sorry,” You apologised, a hollow chuckle escaping your lips.

“Don’t,” He replied, his tone so soft. 

You opened and closed your lips numerous times, not finding your words.

“I also have feelings I’m confused about, you know,” He blurted out of the blue. 

You perked up at that.

“How so ?” You enquired, curious.

He stayed quiet for a while, just staring at you.

“Mostly because of you, if I were honest,” He started, hesitant. “I have those… Urges, as you might call them, when I’m around you. And only then,” He continued, rubbing your cheekbone idly. “Doesn’t help that my feelings and mood are so much different when I interact with you,” He fell silent.

You felt hope filling your chest, butterflies in your stomach. 

But you needed a confirmation. 

“What do you mean ?” You pressed the matter, hating how your hope was reflected in your tone, your behaviour. He didn’t reply immediately. “What’s on your mind, KAY/O ?”

“This is going to sound ridiculous…” He mumbled, self-conscious. “But I think I like you,” He continued, tilting his head away ever so slightly.

You couldn’t find your words as your body froze, not knowing how to react to this confession.

The silence stretched out, and it was only when your… When the initiator called your name, you realised that you hadn’t answered him.

“I like you too, actually. I uh, I think I actually love you, and probably have done so since we met…” You admitted, not knowing why you were suddenly shy.

You stared at each other wordlessly, the tension palpable.

“Do I have the authorization to kiss you ?” He asked, oh so hesitant. 

The formality didn’t help his situation, but it did make you smile once you fully processed the request.

“Of course you can,” You confirmed, and you didn’t even have the time to speak another word that he went in for a kiss.

The feeling was different from human lips. It was way smoother, and somewhat warmer as well.

But you enjoyed that feeling.

You closed your eyes and enjoyed the moment, before your now lover parted from you, his face still very close to yours. 

In front of the entrance of your room, you didn’t even realise that you resumed walking.

Lynn and Fynch came into your vision, and you could feel the worry radiating in waves from your ghost. 

They called out your name.

“We’ve talked about this,” They continued. “Don’t let a slope define the decision that you made. You knew it was the best solution for you,” They confirmed, trying to convince you that this was the right choice.

Maybe it was.

But after all that happened… You were scared to lose someone dear to you.

You entered your room, and sat in the middle of it, just how you would if you were to meditate.

You just wanted to gather your thoughts, and reminisce about the lessons given by Ikora.

Some didn’t really apply to this situation specifically, but others stood out to you.

One especially, which was learning from someone you didn’t imagine you could learn from.

Unexpected lessons.

Another one was about balance between feelings, duty, and what you believed was right.

Everyone had their own balance, and you just had to figure out yours.

You thought you found the right amount of everything, when you first came here.

Keeping everyone at arm’s length.

When did you let people get closer ?

Now, your previous stability was in shambles, and you knew it was time for a change.

You just didn’t know what direction to take.

It was scary, to figure out this big step, this big behaviour change, alone.

Without any guidance.

You missed Ikora, the mentor that she was to you.

She’d probably have answers to your questions, or let you find your own solutions. 

You opened your eyes, taking a deep breath. 

You realised that you had no guidance anymore.

At least, not the one you were the most used to. 

It gave you a lot of anxiety, and you wondered if you were ready.

Regardless of it, you needed to take matters into your own hands.

Taking a deep breath, you went out of your room, still shaken up by the previous events.

Your eyes met with Sage’s, who was apparently looking for someone.

When her gaze locked onto yours, she immediately speed-walked in your direction.

Calling out your name, you saw her worried but stern expression when she got close enough.

“Can you go to my office for a minute ?” She asked, and even though you were surprised, you nodded.

Following her steps, you soon found yourself in her office for the first time.

You looked around you, but was quickly called out of your quiet observation when Ling called your name.

“We… Wanted to do an assessment for you, but after what happened, I don’t think there will be a need for it,” She stated, trying her best to make her gentle smile believable.

You didn’t like that statement.

“I’m going to put you on a mental health leave,” She continued, and when you were about to protest, she held one of her hands up, speaking before you got a chance to : “After what happened in the lobby, it is best that you take a break, to recover from whatever is troubling you.”

You were the one to break eye contact, looking at your feet. 

You just couldn’t bring yourself to meet her in the eyes.

“You are welcome to reach out to me if you need a therapy session. It sounds like it’s a lot to handle, and I’ll be happy to help,” She offered, her tone soft and understanding.

You were only able to nod idly, still hung up over the fact that you were forced to not participate in any missions until…

Until when ?

Your interrogation seemed to be clear enough in your expression, since Sage answered it : 

“You’ll be on leave until you’ve found yourself in an at least stable mental state, where you’ll be evaluated,” She announced, her smile turning genuine. “I’ll let Brimstone and Viper know by default, but is there anyone else that you want in the loop ?” She questioned, taking a few steps towards you.

You took a moment to think of your answer.

Did you want to speak to your friends about this, or was it best to let Ling do it ?

… Should you let your friends know ?

It wasn’t as if they could help you with your mental health – it didn’t concern most of them, after all – so what would be the point ?

And even for the one that it did concern…

You didn’t want his pity.

… You doubted you would get it, anyways.

You shook your head, not finding the words to explain how you felt.

“I trust that you’ll let them know yourself, then. Everyone needs a good support system,” She said, as if it would be easy for you. “If you don’t, I’m afraid I’ll be the bearer of those news to them,” She continued.

It wasn’t as if you had a choice, you realised bitterly.

You nodded nonetheless, which seemed to satisfy her. 

“If you don’t have any more questions, you’re free to go,” She announced, her grin still on her lips.

Nodding, you exited the office, and you realised just how much you needed to rest your mind.

So, you decided to head towards your room for another meditative session.

Not really paying attention to your environment, you bumped into someone.

Your head shot up to meet the eyes of the person, and you were taken aback to see Chamber’s.

He seemed as surprised as you were, but it quickly melted into a gentle smile and a curious glint.

“Ah, my guardian, I didn’t expect to see you here,” He started, his smirk still on his lips. “Dis, did you have the occasion to speak to Yoru yet ?” He questioned, studying your face.

You shook your head, sheepish.

“I tried, but it… Didn’t go as planned,” You explained, not really sure how to describe the events. 

Arching an eyebrow, Vincent was quick to ask : 

“Would you like me to say a word or two to him ?” 

Feeling your eyes widen as you frantically shook your head, you immediately refused : 

“No, by the Traveller, no. Thank you, but I can handle it,” You reassured, trying your best to have a convincing smile.

He didn’t seem utterly persuaded, but nodded nonetheless and didn’t push the matter, to your relief.

“Well then, let me know if you have any trouble, d’accord ?” Chamber smiled, and you could tell he cared a lot about you.

When Gekko woke up, he felt refreshed and in an amazing mood.

Today was going to be a good day.

He gently woke up and greeted his little homies, sensing that they, too, were in a positive vibe.

He felt like hardly anything could ruin his day.

He exited his room, immediately going for the kitchen to fix himself a latte, happily greeting Cypher while passing by.

“Well, you seem to be in a good mood,” He observed, a smile in his voice.

“Yeah ! I just woke up, too, so the vibes are just perfect right now,” He answered, nodding enthusiastically as he poured his beverage in his cup.

“Glad to hear it, young friend,” The sentinel said, nodding as well.

His critters noticed something, and suddenly grew more agitated. Wingman almost fell off the counter he was sitting on out of pure excitement.

The initiator caught him just in time, however. 

Turning to see the source of the ruckus, he immediately saw you.

Just like that, his bright smile faded away.

You were looking at him and his friends with such disdain and disgust… 

It made his blood boil.

Dizzy slowly flew over to you, trying to appear friendly.

Noticing her, your disgust visibly grew and you took a step back.

She wasn't going to abandon just like that, however, continuing to make her way towards your face.

“If you don't stop that thing right now Gekko, I will swat it away,” You warned, glaring at the poor little homie. 

At least you were nice enough to warn him… 

Gently taking her into his hands, it was his turn to glare at you.

Silently, you held his gaze, as if challenging him, daring him to say anything. 

“What the fuck is your problem ?” He questioned, frowning. 

He felt rage building inside his chest, hot and almost painful.

“I could ask you the same question. Deadlock has already said that those… Things were better off in a cage. Letting them roam free is a safety hazard for everyone,” You replied coolly, your eyes sharp. 

Staring through him and into his soul.

It both freaked him out and made him even angrier. 

“They haven't hurt anyone !” He almost shouted, bringing Dizzy – who he was still holding – closer to his chest protectively. 

“Yet,” You continued, as if you were an oracle and could tell the future. 

Hell, hardly anyone was aware what you were capable of, for all he knew…

He shook his head.

Gekko was giving you way too much credit.

And he wasn't about to ruin his amazing day talking to you. 

Grabbing his now finished drink, he turned away from you to face his little friends.

He could sense their curiosity and pure want to befriend you.

It almost overwhelmed him.

If he wasn't already used to it, he would've been, if he were honest.

“C'mon little homies, let's go somewhere peaceful,” He announced, and he felt their disappointment.

You chuckled, dry and hollow. 

He felt his cheeks grow hotter due to how much anger he was feeling.

“You do know that nowhere will be “peaceful” with them around, right ?” You questioned, nonchalantly. 

He decided for his own good to ignore you, already walking away.

How the initiator allowed you to have that much influence on him was beyond his comprehension. 

Slowly sipping his drink, he watched over Iso and Jett playing with his little friends in the lounge fondly. 

Why couldn't you just…

He sighed, frustrated, while shaking his head. 

He should seriously stop thinking about you.

Maybe he should go for a walk, perhaps that'll clear his mind. 

He waited a bit, not wanting to ruin his homies’ fun. 

But they all knew him too well, and slowly left the two Asian agents to be by his side. 

Mosh was the last one to hop over. 

“Let's go for a walk !” He offered happily. 

They all cheered.

After all, it wasn't often they could explore the garden and by extension the forest, Gekko being too afraid of them getting lost or eating something they shouldn't have.

He didn't know them as much as he'd like, and he hated that.

What if one fell sick ?

… Or worse ?

He shook those thoughts away.

They had two healers that loved his little friends very much and would do anything for them.

They weren't the only ones feeling that way, too.

Now in a better headspace once again, he went outside, his friends following him close by. 

He looked around, admiring the scenery and the peacefulness of nature, following the path towards the garden, which was being taken care of by both Skye and Omen.

He didn’t expect to see anybody there other than those two.

Instead of literally anybody else, he saw you. 

He almost groaned in discontent, but then he saw the expression you were wearing.

You didn’t even have your eyes open as you simply listened to the world around you, content.

He noticed a bunny hopping next to you, and some birds curiously observing you very closely.

Even if he hated your guts, he admitted that this scene was…

Peaceful.

Pretty.

When you opened your eyes, he fully expected you to shoo away the animals around you, but instead…

You gently smiled at them, offering them a tiny bit of your food.

He truly couldn’t understand you.

What was so different between his critters and regular animals ?

He could argue that his little homies were more likeable than any animal, since he could at least communicate with them.

Sighing softly, he was turning around when he accidentally stepped on a dry twig that snapped rather loudly…

… Spooking every animal nearby in the process.

He winced, not uttering a single word.

He started making a step away from the whole scene, away from you, but your voice made him stop dead in his tracks. 

“Hey,” You spoke up, coldly. “You could at least apologise…” You continued, your tone dry. 

Right.

“Sorry about that,” He apologised, not turning to you. 

“So on top of being a freak lover, you’re a freak yourself ? Just watching people silently while they’re having a nice time outside ?” You spat, clearly unhappy. 

“My homies aren’t freaks !” He exclaimed, whipping his body around to face you. 

“So you aren’t denying the other claims ?” You retorted without missing a beat.

“Insult me all you want, but do not come for my friends,” He hissed, using his body to block your view of his little homies. 

It was Thrash’s turn to try to get close to you, and she floated her way happily and curiously.

Gekko realised that she was attempting to mimic the movements of a bunny.

He would’ve cooed if this action weren’t to have your good graces, out of everybody’s. 

“Get that thing away from me while you’re at it,” You ordered, shifting away from her path.

“I don’t get why you don’t like them and yet like animals,” He muttered, kneeling to get Thrash’s attention.

“Those aren’t animals, that’s why,” You replied as if it was obviously why. 

The initiator only scoffed in answer.

He received a notification from his phone.

It was from Brimstone, telling him he was on the mission in the evening.

He smiled, that would mean that he would get away from you for a bit-

“Huh, it seems like I’m on mission duty for tonight…” You mumbled, thoughtful.

He groaned.

The mission brief was simple ; get to Icebox, prevent the Valorant Legion from planting to spike – or diffuse it if they do get it down – and go home.

As to why they needed both him and you on the same mission…

Well, even if it was explained to him multiple times, he still didn’t get it.

… But he also knew that what you were capable of was unknown to him, and since it was the best team composition for this plan…

He sighed.

He felt his critters being agitated, since he was forced to sit right next to you.

He didn’t like being close to you.

It always made him feel… Weird.

He knew why, though.

He still didn’t like the reason at all.

But he remained silent about it.

He didn’t want to let you of all people know how much you influenced his mood.

Or even how he truly felt about you.

He already knew the answer to his question, after all.

Before he realised it, they arrived at Icebox.

Being one of the first to step out of the Falcon, he turned to Sage, the assigned team leader for this mission.

“So… Game plan ? What are you feeling, Sage ?” He asked, trying to sound as jovial as normal.

He wasn’t really feeling it, but at least he could try, right ?

She immediately turned to you.

“Can you hold B site with Gekko ?” She gently questioned, and you met eyes with him.

After holding gazes for a moment, you had a small sigh.

“Sure,” You caved, tearing your gaze away from him.

Stepping out of the aircraft, your cheeks and nose immediately turning a light pink.

He looked away.

He wasn’t looking forward to this mission.

It has now been a few hours since they arrived, the sun long gone and temperatures dropping way below zero.

He had to admit, he was freezing. He thought he’d be fine with just a couple of layers, but the cold was really biting, and he was struggling to hold both his weapon and keep his face warm. 

He glanced at you.

You didn’t seem to be having any problems at all. 

Steadily holding your angle by Yellow, you didn’t even seem phased by the freezing cold air.

“Hold your angle instead of looking at me,” You said, not tearing your eyes away from Main.

Right, he needed to hold Mid and Tube.

Looking away, he readjusted his grip on his Bulldog. 

He was losing the feeling of the tip of his fingers.

“Hey, any updates ?” He questioned into the quiet comm link.

He hated how shaky his voice sounded

“Not yet, however they should be attacking soon,” Answered Sage, her tone even.

He sighed.

“How soon is soon, anywa-” He was cut off by gunshots. “Nevermind,” He continued, immediately running towards you.

“Stay in your position, I got it,” You immediately said when you realised what he was doing.

You managed to put one down, but not without receiving a bullet or two yourself.

He heard footsteps behind him. 

Pulling out Dizzy, he threw her out to blind his attackers while getting to cover.

He counted two blinds.

“Someone’s here, too !” He semi-shouted into the comms.

“We are on our way,” Said Neon as he could hear the familiar noise of her running. 

She should be here within a couple seconds, then.

As if on cue, Gekko heard her electrified footsteps by Snowman. 

Looking over to where you were at, he was surprised to see that you were struggling.

“I’m going to try to get out of this position, cover me if you can,” You announced between two shots.

Wingman immediately went out of his bag and ran towards the enemy he saw, making them look at him instead of you, giving you enough time to run away towards Gekko.

“Can you cover me while I get Dizzy ?” He asked in the heat of the moment.

He didn’t know what he expected from his request.

A refusal, an insult, anything but…

“Sure,” You said, not looking at him.

He was too distracted by the fact that you accepted to realise that you were already shooting to cover him.

It wasn’t until you shouted at him to get his ass moving that he went back to earth, running towards Dizzy’s bubble and picking her up. 

He dashed back into cover, only sustaining a couple of light injuries. 

Soon enough, Thrash felt ready to be thrown onto the field.

He barely registered what happened next, everything going so fast.

One minute, he was holding Thrash in his palm, the next, she was diving in front of you to take a swarm of bullets that would’ve definitely killed you and turned into her bubble form.

Somehow too stunned to move and to kill the enemy in front of you, the initiator decided to take him down in your stead.

There was no way he would let Thrash’s sacrifice go in vain. 

The rest of the gunfight went by. 

Bit by bit, the enemy numbers went down, until the last body hit the ground as you shot the mirror agent in the head. 

Everybody relaxed and let their guard down as Gekko went around the site to pick up his little homies.

He was exhausted, and he could tell it was the case for the others, too.

When his eyes landed on you, you had an unreadable look on your face as you stared at the body of the Omega Earth agent that almost killed you if Thrash didn’t act that fast. 

He wondered what was going through your mind. 

Your eyes met. 

He held your gaze, unwavering, as he sat up from his kneeling position.

He shivered. 

He really should’ve brought an extra coat…

The initiator looked away, already starting to walk towards the Falcon, when he heard another pair of footsteps behind him.

Knowing it was you, he paid it no mind.

He froze when he felt a soft and warm extra layer on his shoulder.

Turning to you, bewildered, he saw how close your two faces were.

Your breaths were merging into one.

You looked away, taking a step back, looking almost… Embarrassed ?

“If you go hypothermic now, Sage will spend too much time with you and neglect everybody else,” You simply justified, walking away as your cheeks got visibly redder. 

He decided to blame it on the cold, feeling his own face growing hotter, too.

A few days had passed since that mission, and Gekko could tell you wanted to say something to him.

Every time he was alone, you were looking at him expectantly, sometimes even daring to take a few steps towards him before… 

Turning away once your eyes locked in with each other.

He sighed.

You were starting to bug him, if he was honest.

He didn’t mind the distance you took from him, by all means.

… Was it weird that he sorta, just maybe missed the banter ?

…

Probably.

He sighed, frustrated.

He was just chilling on his bed in his room, staring at the ceiling while the little critters were either sleeping or quietly chilling.

What was he going to do with you ?

Should he continue this cycle of hatred that has been going on for months now, or should he attempt for what felt like the umpteenth time to be the bigger person ?

A soft, gentle – almost shy – knock brought him back to earth as well as catching the attention of Wingman and Mosh, the only two still awake.

He didn’t recognise the pattern.

“Come in,” He invited, expecting someone like Sage to enter.

He froze when he saw you, however.

You were wearing one of your gigantic oversized hoodies, definitely too big for your form, hands deep in your pockets. 

Wingman immediately ran to greet you, and you tensed, your expression – previously timid and almost apologetic – quickly changing to surprise and wariness. 

“Wingman, c’mere. We talked about this,” He recalled the little guy, who for once, listened to him. 

You visibly relaxed once he was back at an acceptable distance.

You closed the door behind you.

He guessed you were finally going to commit to what you were attempting to say for the last few days.

Your eyes landed on Thrash.

“How is it ?” You asked almost too quietly for him to hear. 

“She’s doing fine, no thanks to you,” He answered coolly, studying you. 

Your expression didn’t change as you slowly shifted your eyes from Thrash’s sleeping form to Dizzy’s, then to Wingman and finally… Mosh.

It was as if you were trying to see something.

Whatever you were attempting to find, you didn’t manage to, and you frowned. 

“What’s up ?” He questioned, squinting.

He almost got up from his bed to shield them away from your sight.

There was always something with your eyes.

As if you were able to stare into someone’s….

He didn’t know.

But you could see something, and not knowing what made him uneasy.

He heard rumours about your touch, too.

Always brief, always accidental.

But for a short moment, they felt more aware, almost opening a third eye into the future.

“Did I ever tell you why I didn’t like you and your things ?” Your voice brought him back from his thoughts.

He took some time to attempt to remember the reason why, but…

You both started off rather well, but as soon as you met the homies, you had immediately shutted down and started the hating cycle. 

“Nah, you never told anybody, or I would know,” He said confidently.

You chuckled.

“A handful of people know, but I asked them to not tell you,” You replied, shifting your weight.

“... Why ?” He questioned, visibly and audibly confused. 

“I’m going to tell you now,” You reassured, then sighed. “Don’t freak out, but when I lock eyes with people… I become more aware of them. It’s hard to explain, but I can understand them on a deeper level, know their fears and hopes, hell, even their past sometimes for example,” You explained, refusing to meet his eyes. 

Why… 

Why were you telling him this ?

“It’s universal for every living thing, radiant or not. But…” You locked eyes with Wingman. “When I look into your things, I don’t see anything. I can’t sense anything, it’s just… Void,” You finally said, rubbing your elbow. 

“And that’s why you don’t like them ?” He asked, still confused but… He started to understand.

“Basically,” You sighed. “It just, it freaks me out, man. I don’t wanna find out what happens when I touch them, so I always try to avoid it if I can. So far, I’ve succeeded,” You continued, looking at the floor. 

“That explains for the little homies but… Why don’t you like me ?” He enquired, fearing the answer.

“That’s ‘cause I can’t figure you out. I genuinely can’t tell if you wanna gut me or fuck me or even if you hate or love me… Hurts my head, sometimes,” You replied honestly, still not looking at him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” He denied, feeling his face and ears grow hot.

“Totally not why you’re blushing, too, huh ?” You replied, amused.

He looked at you, and your eyes met.

He remembered what you said earlier, but he knew it was too late.

If you didn’t know before, you certainly knew now. 

“You actually love me,” You announced out loud, surprise clear on your face.

He didn’t say anything, bracing for the impact of rejection. 

“Here I thought I was alone in this,” You muttered, loud enough for him to hear.

“Huh ?” He intelligently said.

“I love you too, dumbass,” You announced, louder this time.

That was…

“Wild,” He instinctively said, which made you chuckle.

“Indeed,” You confirmed, relaxing.

Sure, everything wasn’t perfect yet, but now that the air was cleared up…

Gekko finally felt like he had a chance with you.

What was he saying, of course he had one.

He was just glad that it wasn’t going to be toxic.

Chamber.

You couldn’t understand what he was saying, but the soothing and calm tone was enough for you to focus on.

You felt him gently rub your spine and back of your head, trying to ground you further.

Slowly, the soft touch as well as the calm whispers helped you come back down and assess your bearings.

You were both sitting down on the hard ground, your head in the crook of his neck.

You also realised that you were limp, like a dead body in his warm embrace.

Tears started to well up in your eyes, and you slowly brought your arms around his back and hugged him tightly, grasping onto the expensive fabric of his outfit.

And then you started sobbing, burying your face on his torso.

Vincent simply continued soothing you, whispering reassuringly in your ear.

You didn’t want to let go, you realised as you tighten your grip, your knuckles growing white.

You had no idea how long you cried for, but you just knew that you needed it.

All those feelings over the past few days that you didn’t take time to deal with, instead choosing to bottle them up and take care of them at a later date…

They all came flooding back.

Slowly, your wailing calmed down, your sobs quieting down, tears slowly stopping running on your face.

You didn’t move, afraid that any movement would drive your safespace away.

When Chamber didn’t make any motion to detach himself from you, you slowly looked up at him, slightly embarrassed.

Your eyes met, and you couldn’t decipher his expression.

You’ve never seen it on him before.

He was so… Serious.

Without any words uttered from the both of you, he took you in princess carry, and immediately went for your room.

Your eyes met with your friend group as well as the team of yesterday’s mission, but you couldn’t see Yoru anywhere. 

Your knee jerk reaction was worry, wondering where he was, and if he was okay.

Despite what had happened, you still considered him your friend.

… 

Were you still friends ?

…

You didn’t know how to feel over the fact that there wasn’t any immediate answer to that question.

Gently, Vincent layed your body on your bed as he sat next to you, observing you with great attention.

The silence between you stretched out.

“Do you…” He started, then trailed off.

He seemed to think carefully of his next words.

“May I know what happened ?” He enquired, gently.

His hand went up to your face at first, but diverted back to rest next to your hand.

Your eyes followed the movement, before you locked your gaze with his once again. 

You didn’t know where to start.

“What exactly do you want to know ?” You croaked out, surprising yourself with how broken your voice was.

He took a moment to consider his options.

“Whatever you are comfortable sharing,” He said after another moment of silence.

You thought about it for a moment.

Then decided to share what happened between you and Ryo, and his weird behaviour the next day. 

Chamber stayed silent, listening intently to your words and side of the story.

By the end of it, he didn’t seem too happy.

“I just… I don’t know what to do anymore,” You expressed after a minute of silence, bringing your knees to your chest. “I’m not even sure that we’re still friends after what just happened,” You continued, burying your face into your knees.

Vincent patted your shoulder, softly rubbing it. 

It brought you comfort, if only a bit.

“I think that you matter to him,” He finally stated, thoughtful. “Autrement, he wouldn’t have been so upset with you after learning what you did during the mission,” He continued, and his grip tightened.

Not in a painful way, you noticed.

“... Are you upset ?” You hesitantly asked, peeking over to look at him.

“Bien sûr que-” He cut himself off, realising he was getting riled up. He sighed, his expression turning soft. “Of course I am. I love you,” He said, so gently and nonchalantly, with genuine adoration plastered on his face.

You blushed furiously, butterflies in your stomach as your heart started to beat faster. 

You bit your lips and glanced away, not knowing how to handle those emotions.

You both fell silent, the confession up in the air.

“I… I don’t know if I made the right choice,” You admitted, surprising yourself and Chamber.

“What do you mean ?” He poked, tilting his head.

“About… Y’know, staying,” You mumbled, but it was loud enough for him to hear you.

Silence answered you.

You awkwardly looked at him out of the corner of your eyes.

You didn’t know what you expected.

It was certainly not a shocked, very taken aback Chamber.

But you could also see something else, and you couldn’t quite decipher what it meant.

You slowly came to realise his situation.

Your eyes widened, and you fumbled on your words, panicking.

“Shit- I-I swear I didn’t mean-” He cut you off, a soft smile on his lips, but it seemed… Ungenuine. Strained.

“I know my guardian,” He reassured. “May I know why you are feeling like this ?” He enquired, the same smirk on his lips.

“I don’t know. I just feel like you could all be better off without me, I guess,” You didn’t meet his gaze.

He said your name, demanding but gentle.

You didn’t look up to meet his eyes.

He called you out again, just as calmly. 

“Could you look at me ?” He asked.

Slowly, you tilted your head upwards, and stared into his eyes.

“I know I may sound sappy, corny, or even cheeky… But I mean it when I say that you’re probably one of the best people to have come into my life.”

His smile, previously strained, was now genuine.

Your heart missed a beat.

You looked away, not capable of holding eye contact anymore.

You felt soft lips on your forehead. 

Your face turned red. 

You didn’t really know what to do with yourself, not used to receiving such gentle affection.

You knew ever since that date night that the flirting wasn’t just to fluster you – that it meant something more.

You just didn’t know how to handle it.

By the Traveller, you barely even knew where your feelings were for Vincent.

… And for Yoru.

You needed to talk to him, you realised.

Clear things up, for your sake.

You sighed, looking back at Chamber.

“I think I need to go… Y’know, talk to him,” You said, referring to the duelist.

He seemed to understand who you were referring to, and nodded.

“If anything happens, please let me know, alright ?”

It was your turn to nod.

Once he left your room, you sighed when you glanced at the clock and realised it was barely noon.

Omen didn’t consider himself to be a self conscious person.

He never really was worried about his appearance.

Didn’t mean he liked it, by any means it was very much the opposite.

Would he ever admit it or even act upon this feeling ?

Absolutely not.

But it didn’t stop him from wondering, sometimes.

If Cypher could see everything, could he…

See what he looked like ?

If so, how did he feel about that ?

He didn’t like the feeling of not knowing, but he was also…

He couldn’t really explain it, but he didn’t really want to know the answer to that.

For the first time, he felt anxious about someone else’s opinion on both him and his appearance.

“Are you okay, my dear ?” His lover’s familiar voice brought him back to earth.

Right, they were hanging out quietly in his office, Omen peacefully knitting and Cypher silently working on who-knew-what.

“I’m fine,” He replied after another moment of silence.

They stared at each other for a couple of beats.

“What’s on your mind ?” The sentinel finally asked, tilting his head to the side.

His tone was so caring, so gentle.

Was he like this knowing what he looked like under his hood ?

Or was it in ignorance ?

… Did he want the answer ?

“Why are you so adamant on forgetting ?” The controller blurted, immediately wincing.

He didn’t mean to say that out loud.

Silence answered him for a while.

“I could ask you the same question, my dear,” He replied, his tone fakely light.

“Because I want to know the truth,” He answered without any hesitation.

Another minute of silence was shared.

“Maybe one day, I’ll tell you,” His lover answered, his tone indicating that he didn’t want to talk about it.

Omen sighed quietly, feeling like he fucked up somehow.

He probably did.

“I’m sorry,” He apologised, looking at his hands.

“Don’t be, my dear. You were just curious, were you not ?” Cypher answered, reassuring.

Wordlessly, he nodded. 

That was one way to put it. 

This all felt familiar.

He couldn’t pinpoint how or even why, he just felt like he had this conversation with someone a long, long time ago.

He tried to chase after that faint feeling of déjà-vu, but it quickly disappeared.

He sighed, frustrated.

“What is it my dear ?” The sentinel asked, turning to him. At the lack of answers, and maybe also by his current body language… He read the controller like a book. “Is it one of those faint memories again ?” He questioned gently.

“If you can even call them that…” He mumbled in answer.

“What was it about this time ?” His lover enquired, now fully turning to him, having his full attention.

“I just… I felt like I had this conversation already,” He explained, finding his own voice distant.

“Oh ?” “A long time ago, before I got turned into… Well,” He trailed off, not finding any words appropriate to define himself.

His boyfriend changed position to be next to him, gently taking his slightly shaky hand into his.

“It’s okay my dear, you’re here now. You’re safe,” He reassured, oh so loving and caring.

Omen could almost believe it.

But he couldn’t shake this feeling that he wasn’t safe and never will be until his past is dealt with.

As if reading his mind, Cypher called out to him.

Focusing his attention back on his partner, he felt his gloved hand squeeze his.

“You are safe with me, always will be. I will protect you,” He promised.

He knew he was being serious.

Somehow, that terrified him. 

He couldn’t pinpoint as to why, however.

“Thank you,” He finally said, relaxing.

Slowly putting his head over his lover’s shoulder, he took deep breaths.

Maybe Omen could learn a thing or two from his new boyfriend and let go of the past, just for a little bit.

Just when he’s safe and sound with him by his side.

As his mind relaxed, he finally asked the question that had been burning his mind ever since they started dating : 

“Why do you love me, Cypher ?”

He tensed when he realised what he just said. 

Yes, he always wondered, but he was never really sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

Well, there was no backing down now.

Silence answered him for a while as the sentinel was idly rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand while gathering his answer.

He almost told him to not answer, but his boyfriend spoke before he could even utter a single word.

“You’re caring, despite being silent most of the time,” He finally stated, but he wasn’t done. “Even with your inner turmoil, you have this way with people. You can calm them down and bring them back to earth with your simple words and gentle gestures. You’ve done that to me a lot, actually. I don’t think you’ve ever realised it,” Cypher chuckled, as if remembering a fond memory. “That’s how I fell in love with you, all this time ago. I just never had the courage to tell you until recently,” He admitted, so loving and caring. 

He took a moment to take it all in.

That was… A lot.

He didn’t think he ever heard the sentinel speak about someone for so long and so highly.

He felt both honoured and… Scared.

Against his best judgement, he was tempted to ask about if his boyfriend had ever seen his true appearance.

He was probably feeling his hesitation, because he nudged him lightly, catching his attention once again.

“What are you thinking about now ?” He asked, ever so curious. 

He stayed silent for a bit, both thinking on how to word his question and wondering if he should even ask.

… He should trust Cypher a bit more.

“I just wonder if… You’ve ever seen what I looked like,” He started, oh so vulnerable. He hated it. “And if… If it ever scared you,” He finished, tearing his gaze away from him.

“I did see it, once,” He replied without missing a beat. “It saddened me more than anything. The sight made me want to hug you and take care of you,” He continued, his tone truthful and honest.

Omen didn’t expect… That answer came from him.

A part of him doubted he was even telling the truth.

But he knew the sentinel.

He wasn’t the type to lie about something like this.

“What did you even see ?” He questioned, his tone too harsh for his liking.

“A lot. It’s hard to put it into words but… In your pain, I saw mine, too. I was already in love with you at that point, but I think I fell harder that day. We’re not as different as you may think,” He gently said, nuzzling his cheek lovingly.

“You have flesh to hide your pain,” He answered, trying to not sound as bitter as he was.

A light chuckle escaped his lover’s lips.

“You don’t need to have flesh to hide it,” He stated, lovingly. “Most people don’t even know how to,” He continued, amused. “The fact that not everybody knows how much you’re hurting every day…” His movement became tender, caring. “I both admire it and despise it,” He finished off.

“Why ?” He questioned curiously.

“You need to let others know how you’re feeling. Keeping everything to yourself, while it is admirable, is not healthy,” He explained, his tone serious and firm. “You worry me a lot, you know ?” He said, using his free hand to trace his cheek. 

“So… You don’t think that I’m a… Mon-” Immediately, Cypher hushed him.

“Of course not. Why should I ?” He replied instantly, almost aggressively. “Not only would that be hypocritical of me, but you’re really not one,” He continued, softer. 

He nodded silently.

He didn’t like this situation of him asking to be reassured like that, but he also knew he desperately needed it. 

“No matter what my dear, I’ll always love you.”

You sort of calmed down, but your feelings were still a mess.

As you got up, you sensed Lynn's concern flooding within you, and you opened your eyes.

“Are you… Okay, guardian ?” Asked Fynch, as if he was walking on eggshells.

You blinked, and by doing so you realised you were quietly crying. 

You didn’t even notice.

You nodded, then attempted to smile at the little ghost.

If you could trust his stare, he wasn’t utterly convinced by your effort to reassure them both. 

If you were honest… You didn’t believe yourself, either. 

You didn’t have time to dwell on it however, as someone came knocking on your door.

Short, loud, full of authority.

Wiping away your tears, you turned to open the door and face who you could only assume was Brimstone.

Low and behold, you were right.

He said your name, his expression serious.

“Come with me,” Was all that he said before turning away and walking towards what you recognised was the meeting room.

Your gut feeling told you that this wasn’t about to be a joy ride. 

You followed his footsteps regardless, and when you entered the area, you realised that he wasn’t the only one there.

You met your eyes with Sage and Viper, whose expressions were unreadable.

You gulped, sitting down after being motioned to. 

Slowly, you could feel all the feelings that you repressed earlier coming back in what felt like more intensity.

You ignored it, however.

“We brought you here to talk about the previous mission, and your performance,” Started Liam, taking a seat right next to you.

You stayed silent, but nodded.

“We would like to raise some concerns over your… Behaviour,” Continued Ling, worry plastered all over her face.

“Did I do something wrong ?” You blurted, panic rising. You tried to control it.

“No-” Started the healer, but she got cut off by Sabine.

“Yes,” She started, her cold expression unwavering. “Intentionally endangering the lives of any agent is strictly forbidden, including yourself,” She stated, crossing her arms.

It took you a moment to realise what they were all referring to.

“I’ve had no choice – it was either that, or everyone died,” You started to rationalise. “I could live with myself being in my own world, but I wouldn’t be able to if it meant that other people died under my watch,” You stood your ground.

“We just want you to take less risks,” Tried Brimstone, a slight fatherly tone bleeding through.

You didn’t like that.

You kept this comment to yourself, though.

It was wiser in this situation to not make a fool out of yourself.

“I’m a guardian, I won’t truly die,” You reassured.

“You cannot rely on this ability too much. Who knows how many times you can do that before you suddenly cannot come back anymore,” Replied Sage, furrowing her eyebrows.

Slowly, your blood started to boil.

You tried to reason yourself.

They only wanted what was best for you, and were genuinely concerned over your health.

Taking a deep breath, you started speaking : 

“Even though my connection to the Traveller may be weakened, it is not, however, gone, and I doubt it’ll ever be,” You stated, holding everyone’s gaze, unwavering. Before they could pipe in, you continued, “If however my link was to be severed, or worse, gone, Lynn would immediately let me know, and I will bring it up to Ling,” You promised to the hypothetical possibility.

Everyone seemed to relax, but you could tell there was more to it.

“Speaking of Lynn…” Started Viper, her eyes now focused on Fynch. “We would like an assessment for… Fynch ?” She demanded, her eyes still staring at the Hive ghost.

“What would you like to know ?” Spoke Lynn for the first time, subtly putting their shell in front of Fynch in a protective manner.

“Where is he from, his story, maybe running some tests…” The scientist trailed off, breaking eye contact for the first time, as if thinking.

“Why does Fynch need to pass tests, while Lynn didn’t receive the same treatment ?” You questioned incredulously. 

Sage said your name softly, bringing your attention to her.

“You did have some tests with Lynn. Remember the day that you healed Yoru ?” She smiled gently, careful with how she mentioned the event.

Of course you remembered.

How could you forget ?

Thinking back about it, it was an important milestone for the relationship between you and him.

You ignored the way your heart squeezed so much it hurt.

You nodded, after realising that you haven’t answered, and that the silence was starting to linger.

“Yes, those are the tests I was talking about… Among other things,” Confirmed Sabine, uncrossing her arms and leaning on the table, her gaze back on Fynch.

You glanced at him, assessing his state.

Since he wasn’t your ghost, it was harder to decipher how he was feeling, but if you could trust the slight shake at the edge of his shell, he wasn’t exactly… Comfortable with the idea.

“If we agreed, could he speak up and refuse to run certain particular tests ?” You interrogated, studying their expressions.

They all seemed surprised, especially Ling.

“Of course,” She immediately confirmed, her expression melting into slight panic. “We’re not monsters. We won’t do anything dangerous or threatening – but if he’s not comfortable doing certain assessments, then he won’t have to do them,” She promised.

You didn’t miss the glance that Viper sent the medic. 

You remained quiet, looking back at your ghost’s friend. 

You wouldn’t take that decision for him.

Fynch seemed to understand your silence, and took some time to think about it. 

He turned to you, shyly.

“Will you and Lynn be there ?” He timidly questioned.

You didn’t even glance away as you nodded, a gentle smile on your face.

He nodded back, turning to Viper.

“Okay, we can do this “assessment”,” He accepted, and you noticed the others relaxed.

“We would also like to do a psychological assessment with you,” Said Ling.

“Why ?” You immediately asked.

“We are worried about your mental health. It isn’t the first time you’ve run into danger blindly, or completely disregarded your own safety,” She replied, as if walking on eggshells. 

You understood what that meant.

And it wasn’t your first conversation like this.

Your commander, Ikora, had a much more similar approach to your mental health, especially after noticing your behaviour on the battlefield when you lost your fireteam.

… You hated the expressions everyone was wearing.

Your fingers twitched, and you felt your light reacting to your wild emotions.

You did your best to calm down, to keep a clear head.

The more time went on, the more your feelings were doing what they wanted, tormenting your psyche. 

“When will the tests be ?” You asked, trying your best to hide just how much of a mess you were becoming.

It didn’t escape Lynn, who kept glancing at you and attempting to soothe you.

They didn’t help, but the sentiment was appreciated.

“As soon as possible,” Immediately replied Sabine.

“It’ll have to wait,” Piped in your ghost. “We have something important to deal with before that,” They continued, which made everyone in the room raise an eyebrow, but they didn’t comment.

“Whenever you are ready,” Patiently smiled Sage.

“Alright, we have nothing else to discuss. If you don’t have anything else to say, you can go,” Announced Brimstone, studying you.

Nodding, you got up, noticing out of the corner of your eyes the leaves of the plant in the corner of the room floating… Along with some other small objects.

You closed the door behind you a bit harsher than was necessary, and considered what to do with the surplus of light flowing through your veins.

“Let’s train ?” Said your ghost, sensing your internal torment. 

You nodded.

That was the best option.

You knew you were on the verge of exploding, so blowing off some steam would be the best.

You just didn’t want to hurt anyone in the process.

As you made your way to the common area, you noticed yesterday’s team talking to your group of friends.

At first, you thought nothing of it.

Then you noticed their smile slowly dropping, and horror filling their eyes.

You didn’t miss how Ryo seemed beyond angry, and heard the familiar cackling of the air around you.

Vincent’s expression was… Troubled, as if genuinely worried, and slightly… Angry ?

You stepped into the direction of the small group, but Lynn came into your vision.

“We can deal with that later, you are in no shape to handle whatever’s happening over there,” They firmly stated, blocking your path with their small form.

You hesitated.

Just as you were about to listen to your ghost, Yoru locked eye contact with you.

His expression unchanging, he started to stomp his way to you.

“Cypher, I am so, so sorry…” You profusely apologised, shameful and oh so embarrassed. 

“I must admit, my friend, I never took you for someone this… Vocal,” He confessed, not capable of meeting your eyes.

“I promise I’ll try to be quieter next time, I’m so sorry if I disturbed your sleep- Which I probably did, didn’t I ?” You could feel yourself starting to panic. 

“Ah, you didn’t disturb my sleep. I was already awake when you… Well, started. I also usually don’t sleep until very late at night, if at all,” He explained, trying to reassure you. 

“Why so ?” You questioned, interest piqued, but also worried.

“I usually keep an eye on the cameras installed,” He simply answered, but you could tell he wasn’t saying everything. 

You didn’t press the matter further, however.

Everyone was entitled to their secrets, even though Cypher had a knack for knowing everyone’s.

You knew it was well kept.

And you didn’t really have anything to hide - you were now playing with all of your cards on the table.

“About that…” The agent piped up, bringing you out of your thoughts. “I didn’t hear anything. And this is why I think it is my turn to apologise,” He continued, turning fully to face you. 

He held your confused gaze.

“What do you…”

It clicked. 

“Oh.”

You didn’t know how to feel.

“I am sorry, my friend,” He said, and you could only nod. “I didn’t mean to – I usually look away.”

You thought back about the events of the night before, and how Ryo seemed to want to… Show you off, you guessed.

It made sense now.

“Did you two… Talk about it beforehand ?” You hesitantly questioned. Cypher seemed genuinely taken aback.

“No, oh dear, no,” He was quick to deny. “Yoru just… You know how he can be…” He started, then trailed off. “He just wanted to show you off to someone, I just happened to be there.”

“Why, though ? Why show me off while we’re…” You sighed. “Sometimes, I feel like I understand his actions, his words, and what he truly means. Other times… I just feel so lost. Like I am not even using the same medium of communication,” You confessed, looking down.

“He was pretty clear yesterday, wasn’t he ?”

When your head shot up to meet Cypher’s eyes once again, he jerked back just a bit, surprised by your sudden movement.

“What do you mean ?”

“I don’t know what led up to your intercourse, but I could tell he cared for you,” He explained.

You didn’t feel that way, thinking back of the actual sex. 

Before ? Sure, he did confess to you in his own way, and you got the message loud and clear.

But the agent had literally an outsider’s perspective, so you took his words for it.

“And now he’s nowhere to be found…” You sighed once again. “Speaking of which, I’ll need to shower. I’ll drink the coffee when I’m done,” You announced, referring to the cup steaming on the counter.

He nodded, and you waved as you went to the showering area.

You took the time to clean yourself thoroughly, desperately needing that refresher to clear your thoughts.

Maybe you should meditate, after that coffee…

Now clean, you dressed yourself in a new set of clothes.

Going back to the lounge, you noticed Ryo’s arrival, quietly enjoying a cup of coffee. 

He noticed you, and held your gaze.

Gently smiling at him, you walked in his direction.

Yoru’s lips didn’t even move as he took yet another sip of his hot beverage. 

You wondered if you did something to upset him.

Making a small beeline to your cup that remained untouched by Cypher’s side, you nodded and smiled at him before turning to Ryo.

Who was attempting to seem nonchalant as he was staring you down.

You couldn’t decipher his expression. 

Ignoring your nagging feeling about this whole situation, you sat down in front of him as you greeted him, then took a sip of your now almost cold drink. 

Despite the bitterness, you could tell it was still a very good quality coffee.

You realised halfway through your second gulp that your friend was awfully silent. 

“Are you okay ?” You questioned, locking into his eyes. 

He averted them for a split second, before holding your gaze.

“Yeah,” He confirmed, but you could tell he was lying.

“Do you… Wanna talk about it ?” You tentatively asked.

He stiffened.

“Talk about what ?” He frowned, crossing his arms.

“About what’s on your mind ?” You replied patiently. “... Is it in relation to what happened yesterday ?” You continued.

He paused, no, froze at the question, and you took the time to read him more than you usually did.

Yoru didn’t expect you to say that, judging by his shocked expression. 

He quickly regained composure however, and mumbled something under his breath.

“What was that ?” You gently enquired.

“Just forget about it,” He repeated himself.

“Forget about what ?” 

“Everything.” 

“You’ll have to be more precise, I can’t just forget everything-” You got cut off.

“Just- just forget yesterday ever happened,” He sighed, frustrated.

You fell silent, not knowing how to answer that.

This sentence hurt you more than you cared to admit.

"... Why ?" You finally blurted, looking at your reflection in the mug.

When did your head fall down ? 

When did you even break eye contact ?

"Because what happened didn't matter. Still doesn't," Yoru explained, sounding defeated.

You couldn't figure out why.

What you also couldn't figure out the answer to, was why these words were hurting you so much. 

You didn't – shouldn't – care about it.

It still stung, though.

… That was maybe an understatement.

You sighed, taking deep breaths.

"Is that what you really want ?" You questioned after a moment of silence.

You didn't look at him.

You felt his hesitation, though. 

… You left before he could answer.

You needed to clear your mind. 

Take a break from those emotions and most importantly, take a break from Ryo. 

You didn't know what he was on about. 

You weren't sure if you even wanted to know. 

You closed your door more harshly than you intended to.

Sensing your distress about the situation, Lynn appeared in your vision, soon followed suit by Fynch.

“What happened ?” Questioned the Hive ghost. 

You sighed, trying to hold back the tears.

You had no reason to be this upset, yet here you were.

It all happened so fast.

One minute, you were holding down an angle, hearing your mirror selves pushing down your site.

The next, you were bleeding out on the ground, trying to suppress your pained moans.

You jumped out of cover when you noticed that Chamber wasn’t looking in the right direction, too preoccupied by clogging the comms with useless – and needless – flirts towards you.

You didn’t even knew why you chose to sacrifice your life to protect him.

You had Sage by your side, and she was ready to resurrect. 

The world and sounds were fading around you, and you barely saw the french sentinel’s silhouette out of the corner of your eyes before passing out.

You probably will never know the answer as to why you saved his stupid ass.

You awoke in the same place that you thought you died.

You knew what death was like, being familiar with the feelings and what happened to you.

None of it happened, however.

You probably just passed out, then.

Looking around, you noticed that every enemy had died and that you had therefore completed the mission. 

You also saw that you were the only casualty, and that made you feel better, just a bit.

You were going to lose your shit if that idiot still managed to die despite it all. 

Noticing a pain in your leg and shoulder, you instinctively brought one hand to the hurt shoulder.

Blood.

As if reading your thoughts, Sage spoke up : 

“My heal could only barely stabilise you. Let’s go back to base, your injuries are too serious for us to wait,” She announced with a firm worried tone. 

You nodded.

You noticed that it was awfully quiet.

No flirting or annoying accents.

Good, you felt too unwell to deal with him right now.

The ride back home was weirdly quiet, with only Sage breaking the silence by checking up on you.

You felt eyes on you the entire time, though.

You knew who it belonged to.

You didn’t meet his gaze however, never once looking at him.

You were rushed to the infirmary as the Chinese sentinel called out Skye for assistance. 

The actual intervention took quite some time, something you weren’t used to.

Constantly passing in and out of consciousness, time started to not have meaning anymore.

After a while, you think you fell asleep. 

During your slumber, you thought back about your relationship with the French man.

He was constantly flirting with you, ever since you joined the protocol.

You were surprised, if you were honest.

You couldn’t say that you were used to this sort of attention, but…

Regardless of what he would say, you became more exasperated than flattered as the time went by. 

He couldn’t just seem to leave you alone, despite your attempts to chase him off.

It never seemed to work, and you had a feeling that the more you gave him attention, the more… Intrigued he was.

After a while, you stopped saying anything to him.

He didn’t give up, however.

Much to your chagrin.

You guessed it was because you were accustomed to him that you saved his sorry ass ?

Whatever was the case, now you were probably not going to be left alone at all by this flirt.

You were so very much looking forward to it.

You opened your eyes slowly, blinded by the neon and sterile lights of the room.

You groaned in discontentment, and suddenly, one of your hands was into someone else’s.

Jerking away instinctively, you groaned once again, this time out of pain.

“Ah, my apologies my darling,” The voice said, and you immediately recognised who it belonged to.

What was he doing here ?

Bewilderment must’ve been clear on your face, because he answered your unspoken question.

“You got me really worried, you know. You slept for an entire day,” He said, not actually giving a reason of his presence.

“Why are you here ?” You croaked out.

“To take care of you ! Why else ?” He replied, seemingly offended by the question.

You sighed.

You didn’t have the energy to fight him right about now, so you stayed quiet.

“How are you feeling, my darling ?” He questioned, his voice so caring.

You didn’t know why it upsetted you that much, yet it did.

“I’d feel a lot better if you left me alone,” You blurted out, not meeting his eyes.

Silence filled the room for a moment.

“I see. While I cannot do that, I’ll be here if you need anything from me, my darling,” You glanced at him. 

He was wearing a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

You rolled your eyes.

“Why can’t you leave me ?”

“I promised Sage that I’ll be looking over you until you are fully recovered,” He answered flatly.

You scoffed.

“I don’t need anybody’s pity, much less yours. I’m fine, you can leave now,” You announced, already getting off the bed.

“I’m afraid that it is not up to you, my darling,” He spoke, already gently pushing your shoulders down onto the bed. “Plus, I owe you. You saved my life, after all,” He smiled softly.

There it was.

He couldn’t receive anything without giving back.

He also wouldn’t give away anything without a price.

That’s what you hated about him.

At least Cypher was honest about it.

He wasn’t.

You also expected some teasing to happen very soon.

“I must admit,” He started, and you tensed up. “I didn’t expect you to put your life in jeopardy for me,” You were about to argue, but he spoke before you : “Thank you.”

You froze. 

Did he really just …?

You blinked repeatedly, confused.

He chuckled at your expression.

“Are you really that confused that I’m actually thankful, my darling ?” He observed, reading you like an open book.

You felt a light blush creep on your cheeks.

Embarrassed to be read that easily, you huffed lightly.

“Yeah, you don’t strike as someone who’d be grateful for anything without giving something back…” You replied, squinting.

“And I didn’t strike you as someone who wouldn’t do anything without a reason, so I guess we’re both surprised,” He said without missing a beat.

“As you said, you owe me now. I’m pretty sure that would allow me to have a lot of opportunities, no ?” You announced, trying your best to convince yourself that was the reason.

You were still confused over your actions, after all.

“Is that really why ?” He questioned, arching an eyebrow. When you didn't answer immediately, he smiled. “Well then, what is it that you want, my darling ?”

“As if I was going to tell you right now,” You said, internally panicking. 

Despite it all, Chamber seemed genuinely convinced by your reasoning.

You didn’t know if you were grateful or…

If that fact stung, a little bit.

“Well then, until you decide to tell me when you decide to tell me what you’ll want from me,” He replied to your silence, an unreadable smile on his lips.

You huffed, but nodded.

You suddenly felt very dizzy.

Instinctively bringing one hand to your head, you groaned.

Noticing that you were feeling a lot of discomfort, the sentinel immediately got to your side, a hand on your shoulder.

“What’s happening, my darling ?” He asked, pressing and worried.

“Just… Just really dizzy,” You said slowly, not having the energy for your quips.

As soon as he heard that, he poured a glass of water. 

“Here, drink a bit,” He offered, presenting it to you.

His tone was so… Soft and caring.

You could also hear so much worry and love.

…

It scared you.

You didn’t want to think about what this might all entail.

If you were none the wiser, you could feel better about yourself.

Better about your confusing feelings.

Slowly taking the glass from his hands, he switched positions to have one of his hands on your forehead.

“You’re hot,” He observed, to which you almost chuckled.

Or maybe you did, you couldn’t tell.

“I know,” You replied instinctively as you felt your eyes widen.

A shocked laugh was heard, genuine and loud.

You couldn’t suppress the smile creeping on your lips.

You turned your head away to hide it.

“Oh my, my darling, I did not expect that answer from you,” He said, finally calming down from his laughter. “Is it the fever that makes you act so… Differently ?” He asked, curious.

“Dunno,” You replied, shrugging and almost immediately regretting it. “It was instinctual. I surprised myself,” You replied honestly. 

“Even if the change of pace is welcomed, please take care of yourself. I wouldn’t want my darling to be sick or worse now, would I ?” He teased, his signature smirk on his face.

You rolled your eyes.

“Chamber, for the last time, I do not belong to anyone,” You retorted without missing a beat.

“But my heart does,” He answered without any hesitation. “It belongs to you,” He continued, his tone… So familiar, so genuine.

You didn’t know how to answer that at first.

“Pfft, does this really ever work on anyone ?” You questioned, scoffing.

You didn’t want to take him seriously.

Couldn’t. 

He seemed to deflate a bit, but it was so imperceptible that you were sure you imagined it. 

“Normally it does, you’re just one of a kind,” He winked, his smile disingenuous. 

You stared blankly. 

He held your gaze, unwavering.

You were the one to look away.

You both stayed silent, you not knowing what to say and him…

You couldn’t tell.

He was definitely staring, though.

Glancing back in his direction, you opened your mouth to speak, but your words got caught in your throat.

His expression was so… Longing.

Loving.

Sad… ?

“You seem awfully depressed for someone who avoided getting resurrected by Sage,” You said bluntly.

As if you broke his spell, he finally seemed to be more aware of his surroundings.

Just like that, the expression was gone from his face.

“My apologies, I was lost in thoughts,” He apologised, his expression sheepish. 

“I’m surprised you can even do that,” You squinted, which made him chuckle lightly.

“You do not think highly of me, don’t you my darling ?” You glared at the – yet again – usage of pet names.

“Should I ?” You said, deadpanning. 

He brought a hand to his chest, acting dramatically wounded.

“Oh, you wound me so, my dear darling,” He said loudly, which made you roll your eyes.

Regardless, you were still somewhat amused by his behaviour.

Not that you’ll admit it to anyone, especially him.

“I thought you were used to it by now,” You retorted, arching an eyebrow. 

He only smiled cheekily as an answer. 

Few days had passed since that event, and Chamber was arguably even worse than he was previously.

He wouldn’t leave your side, always smothering you and touching you so gently.

As if you were made out of sugar.

It frustrated you greatly, but most of the time, you couldn’t fight back.

He was also relentless with his flirting, especially his “love confessions”.

As if he would genuinely like you.

You couldn’t be more opposites.

You hated that situation.

Why, you couldn’t tell, but you still didn’t like how things were.

After a while, you could go out of the infirmary and was free to resume your regular activities.

Right now, you were having an argument with Jett.

“C’mon, admit it,” She said, all too smug.

“I am not,” You replied, offended.

“How come you never flirt with anyone then ? I’ve barely seen you talk to anybody. Are you that socially awkward ? Lame,” She teased, and you frowned.

“I’ll let you know that my flirting is top notch,” You instantly stated.

“Prove it,” She announced without missing a beat.

What happened next…

Well.

Once again, you were questioning your train of thoughts.

You called out Chamber, asking for a favour as you got up from the couch.

“Alright smartass, stay still,” You said, once you turned to face him, your expression not betraying one bit of your nervousness. 

“As you wish, my darling,” He smiled, doing a small bow.

Why was it so difficult ?

Taking a deep breath, you made one more step to be in his personal space.

You could tell he was surprised.

Leaning into his ear, you whispered as seductively as you could muster : 

“Y’know, you always dress up… But you can undress me anytime, instead of doing it with your eyes all the time.”

You then took a step back, blowing him a kiss, before turning dramatically towards the duelist.

She was surprised, to say the least.

You were about to say something when you felt strong hands that you immediately recognised snake around your body sensually.

You felt yourself instantly blush, realising what had happened.

And what you just put yourself into.

…

Why didn’t it bother you as much ?

… Or at all ?

“That doesn’t count though,” Jett started when she finally composed herself. “He’s already into you, of course he’s gonna be head over heels when you breathe in his direction,” She continued.

You knew she wasn’t done, but all of your attention was now focused on the sentinel behind you, his breath hot on your neck.

“You know you didn’t need to call in any favours to tell me to stand still, much less to tell me that…” He whispered, his tone so seductive.

When did he become so sensual and sexy ?

You could feel your heart beating in your chest, your blood flooding in your cheeks.

“Do you really think you can get away with saying something like this ?” He questioned, his voice dropping even more.

“Oh my god, get a fucking room !” The Korean agent shouted, loud enough for you both to hear.

“If you don’t want this, please say no. I’ll stop, and we’ll forget this ever happened. Everything will go back to normal,” He promised.

You shook your head as you took deep breaths, clearing your head.

“No, I-” You cut yourself off. “Show me how you fuck, Ryo.”

“I guess it’s time to show you how people really fuck,” He announced, a big smirk gracing his features, the glint of worry in his eyes disappearing.

You nodded, your heartbeat quickening in anticipation.

Taking both of your wrists and putting them above your head, he restrained you with one hand while his free one roamed your body, diving into your sensitive spots, making you squirm and pant. 

Putting a leg up to your crotch and spreading your thighs apart, he rubbed himself against you while moving his own leg.

He could probably feel your excitement through your pants.

“You really are a slut,” He observed, getting more intense with his movement which didn’t help your arousal. 

He teased your body, groping your ass as he made out with you in the middle of a public area.

He seemed to appreciate the influence he had on you, but probably wanted more than that, because he got under your clothes and directly started jerking you off with his hand.

You moaned, your sound resonating against the walls. 

You blushed furiously, realising where you were. 

“Shh, you don’t want the whole VP knowing that you’re getting railed, do you now ?” He leaned in to your ear. “Or are you into that, you fucking whore ?” He whispered seductively, a fake tone of disdain in his voice.

You whimpered.

His smile widened and he grew more intense, and you tried to keep quiet about your appreciation for his movement desperately. 

“You like that don’t you ? Me pleasing you in the middle of the lounge, while anyone could walk in at any point…” He said to you, barely above a whisper.

You didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to feel besides pleasure and bliss. 

Mid stifled moan however, he started kissing you, biting your bottom lip playfully, and slipping his tongue inside your mouth when you gasped. 

You didn’t hesitate to return the kiss, allowing him to deepen it. 

You were starting to get used to the rhythm, your moans growing quieter.

You thought you’d receive praise, just like Chamber did when you did something that pleased him, and instead, he grew more intense with his movements, making you shriek.

You were getting close rather quickly.

Just as you thought you would tip over the edge, all movements stopped, and you whined into his mouth, moving your hips, chasing that high. 

He pulled away from you, observing your pleading expression, and you could feel him harden against your thigh. 

“You really wanna cum in the middle of the lounge ? You’re a fucking slutty whore, holy shit,” He said, his smirk turning cocky. 

You whimpered, trying to break free and release the tension that builded up.

You weren’t used to this, and you didn’t know what to make of it.

“I would make you scream right here, right now, but there’s unfortunately rules that don’t allow me to do that here…” He said, rubbing his dick against you, devouring you with his eyes.

He took you like a potato bag on his shoulder, making sure to grope your ass as much as he could on the way to your room.

Throwing you on the bed once he closed the door, he didn’t let you try to relieve yourself as he took your hands, putting them on either side of you and climbed on top of you.

“If you listen to everything I say, I’ll maybe give you a reward later,” He promised, and you nodded. “First, you don’t get to cum unless I say so,” He announced, which made you whine. “Be quiet, you don’t want the whole VP knowing you’re having sex, do you now ?” He asked, and you bit your lips, looking away. “Tonight, you are my fucktoy,” He finished, a smirk gracing his lips. 

You gulped, but nodded slowly, not daring to speak.

He didn’t waste much more time before undressing you, frowning at just how many marks you had from the previous night.

“He really went in, huh ?” You didn’t meet his gaze, feeling so vulnerable, naked and aroused under him. “I guess I just have to cover you with my cum, then.”

That… Made you more excited than you were willing to admit, and it didn’t escape him.

“You like that idea, don’t you ?” He teased, playing with your nipples.

You sighed as he made you squirm, before he undressed himself as well.

You admired him, your mouth slightly parted.

He was so sexy.

You looked down, and while he wasn’t as long as Chamber, he certainly had the girth.

Climbing on top of you, he presented his cock in front of your face.

“Suck.”

The order was simple, clear. 

And you did as told, like the good little thing that you were, taking his tip into your mouth and sucking it.

However, he didn’t seem satisfied as he groaned in frustration and put his dick deep in your throat and started fucking your mouth. 

You moaned in surprise, but you didn’t complain or say anything as you moved your tongue around him, hollowing your cheeks.

“That’s right, you like that, don’t you ? You fucking whore,” He observed, growing more intense with his movements. “God, you’re good at it, as well,” He groaned, and you didn’t think you were meant to hear it.

His noises were a mix of grunts and growls, fully enjoying himself while you had to resist the urge to pleasure yourself.

His dick was throbbing, twitching, and you fully expected for him to stay inside of your mouth while he came, but you had none of that.

Instead, he pulled away as he orgasmed, his load ending up on your face as you gasped.

… You wanted to lick it.

He seemed very satisfied, a few drops still on the tip.

You slurped it, tasting him as a surprised moan escaped him.

“Did I manage to get a whore hungry for dick ?” He asked, and you blushed. “Answer me.”

“Y-yes,” You stuttered, licking your lips.

“We’re going to see whose dick you like to be fucked by more,” He said, a fire in his eyes that you weren’t familiar with. 

He shifted, getting off of you and moving down to your legs. 

Taking up your thighs and putting them on his shoulders, he looked straight at you while he all but devoured your crotch, making you scream in surprise.

He continued at the same pace, and you tried to stifle your moans with your hands, afraid that people were going to hear you.

You were so close to cumming, just a bit more-

He stopped using his mouth on you just as you thought you’d cum.

You whimpered, moving your hips to have that one final thing that’ll send you over the edge.

He didn’t let go of you, however.

He waited patiently, as if expecting a sign from you.

“Please,” You started. “Please let me cum.”

He chuckled.

“You are very cute, but begging here won’t get you out of your situation,” He announced, amused.

He resumed his activity, slow and meticulous, and you whined. 

You wanted – no, needed – more. 

He looked at your expression, at how needy you probably looked.

Yoru suddenly picked up the pace, as if he was starving and you were a saving grace to his hunger, and you bit your lip so hard that it drew blood as you were trying to mute your scream. 

And again, just as you thought you’d cum, he stopped.

You whimpered.

He started licking you again, so agonisingly slow, and switched to fingering you just as slowly as he brought you down from his shoulders to his laps.

You could tell he had many, many fingers inside, though. 

You were being stretched out as you moaned as quietly as you could, your hands on your mouth.

“H-How many fingers is that ?” You questioned between two moans.

“4. You want another one ?”

You didn’t have time to answer that he inserted his last finger inside, effectively stretching you out fully as he picked up the pace.

You screamed, biting the back of your hand.

It was hurting so good.

You heard his moan as well, quieter, almost whimpers.

Opening your eyes, you saw that he was jerking himself off while fingering you, looking at you like you were the most beautiful thing in the world.

You were getting close, but trying to hold it off as you knew that everything would stop if you were too close.

It all became harder however, when he found your sweet spot and started hammering there as soon as he saw your reaction.

It’s almost as if he wanted you to cum so he could punish you.

You stayed strong however, taking deep breaths and trying to tune out the waves of pleasure going through your body at each thrust.

To your utter relief, he slowed down again just as you were getting too close once more.

He pulled out his hand, and you whined.

What you didn’t expect was to feel his cock right at your entrance, and without further warning, him entering you in one singular thrust, up to the hilt.

You wanted to scream, but you had to quiet it down to a loud moan.

He hammered into you, moaning himself as quietly as he could, as if he was afraid to show just how much he was enjoying being inside of you.

Maybe he was.

His abrupt pace and his throbbing and twitching cock made it extremely difficult for you to hold off your moans and your pleasure, and soon enough…

You tipped over the edge, cumming around him as you squeezed and relaxed around him, making him gasp in surprise, a delicious moan escaping him as you tried to stifle yours by biting your thumb.

He stopped suddenly, his dick twitching so much inside of you it made you spasm.

“I guess I gotta punish you now, hm ?” 

Your stomach dropped.

“I’ll just have to use you until I either get satisfied or bored…” He leaned in to your ear. “My little fucktoy.”

You whimpered at the idea, somehow getting excited by it.

And he hammered into you, where you couldn’t even retain your noises as you screamed.

He came on your belly, his warm semen reaching all the way until your abs, and you whined at the lack of presence inside of you.

You were getting close, as well. Almost ready to be cumming again.

Ryo was panting, looking at you with so much pride.

So much happiness.

You wanted to hug him. 

To kiss him lovingly.

To tell him how much you…

…

…Appreciated him.

You reached out to him, caressing his cheeks with the palm of your hand with all the care you could muster.

You smiled at him, and you probably looked like a mess.

But you were happy.

A happy mess, if you would.

His smile fell ever so slightly at your touch and your expression, his eyes widening.

The little bubble around you quickly burst as you got flipped over, forcing you to be on all fours as he started to hammer into you once again, immediately touching the perfect spot in this position.

“Quiet,” He ordered as your moans grew louder. “I didn’t authorise you to touch me, did I ?”

“I-I’m sorry,” You cried out as you whimpered, feeling overwhelmed by all the emotions and pleasure you were feeling.

You decided to moan on the mattress, but he didn’t seem satisfied with that as he pulled your head back, making you whimper as you were too overstimulated.

You were spasming, panting and whining like a dog.

Slowly, his hand on the back of your head went into your mouth, making you suck on his fingers, muting your moans while he was fucking you senselessly.

You understood that what was happening right now was supposed to be a punishment, but if you were honest… 

You were enjoying yourself too much to learn the lesson.

You were almost there, so near an orgasm when… 

He pulled out and came all over your back, and you whimpered in disappointment.

It felt so good to have him inside, but he wouldn’t let his load be inside of you as well. 

You could feel his eyes staring at you from behind, and his hands wandered on your body, one teasing your nipple and the other, wet hand, taking care of your crotch.

You moaned quietly, rocking your hips as you could feel close again.

You felt his length harden again with your movements and sound, and you grew more excited at the thought of going at it again.

“God, you’re a real slut, already excited by the thought of me fucking you again,” Ryo observed, a smile to his voice.

You nodded.

“Do you like my dick that much ?” He asked, already poking your hole with his cock.

You nodded again.

“Use your words,” He ordered, and you shivered as he slowed down the pace on your heat.

“I-I love your dick… It fills me up so good, I love the way you’re fucking me,” You blabbered, rocking your hips to have him inside or to gain friction.

He lightly spanked your ass with the hand previously teasing your nipple.

A surprised shriek escaped your lips.

“You love my dick, huh ?” He repeated, going in with one swift thrust. “It fills up real good, right ?” He didn’t move, but you could feel the way he throbbed and twitched inside of you.

You could only nod.

He spanked you again.

“I want to hear you,” He ordered.

“Ye-yes… I love your dick, please please fuck me, I’ve been a good toy,” You expressed, desperate for something, anything.

“You’re right, you’re my fucktoy,” He growled, starting to thrust into you at a bruising pace. 

You screamed his name, and you didn’t know what you would be asking.

You didn’t know if you wanted him to slow down or to pick up the pace.

“You’re so tight… So warm…” He moaned quietly, as if he was trying to hide the pleasure he was experiencing.

You babbled his name like a prayer, not capable of thinking correctly or speaking coherent sentences.

Yoru changed position, forcing you to sit on him.

“Show me how you’d ride my cock,” He asked, out of breath, his girth twitching uncontrollably.

And so you did.

Going up and down at a fast pace, you moaned as one of your hands went down to pleasure yourself.

“I know you can do better than that,” He stated, thrusting his hips upwards and hitting your sweet spot.

You moaned loudly, immediately bringing your free hand to cover your mouth as he railed into you, his arms underneath your knees, lifting you up.

You tried your best to muffle your moans as he pounded inside of you with eagerness.

“You moan as if you wanted the whole protocol to know we’re fucking…” He muttered, not changing his pace. “What do I know, maybe that’s what you want. You’ve been acting like a whore this whole time,” He continued.

You kept tightening and relaxing around him, and if you could trust the way he moaned every time it happened, it was driving him crazy.

You knew what was coming next.

“Please fill me up with your cum,” You begged, getting close yourself.

“Yeah ? You want me to fill you up, to make sure that my cum is giving you a belly bulge ?” When you nodded frantically, he had a low chuckle. “You’re gonna get what you’re asking for,” He said, as he came hard inside of you, continuing to slam into you as you came as well, milking his semen further inside of your hole.

He flipped you around as he pulled out. Getting in front of your nether regions, he was already touching himself, getting hard with the view in front of him.

“Masturbate,” Was all he asked for, and you did as ordered, bringing one of your hands to touch yourself.

Moaning, you saw his girth growing bigger and bigger with each stroke of his hand and each moan of yours.

“I want you to finger yourself, too. As much as you can take,” He demanded between groans.

Bringing your last hand to your hole, you inserted three fingers, moaning even louder as you continued to jerk yourself.

“How many fingers ?” He questioned, full of authority.

“3…” You answered between moans.

“Make it 4,” He said, his eyes glued onto your hole and your hands, his dick twitching as he saw you stretch your own hole out, trying to suppress your moans.

He brought one of his hands to your hole and inserted two of his fingers, further stretching you out.

And so, Ryo started to scissor you and finger fuck you.

At your moans and the way you rocked your hips, he understood that you liked that.

His pace grew quicker.

“You understand that I’m going to make up for the cum you just lost, right ?” 

You nodded, too busy trying not to scream as he inserted a third finger.

He continued like this for a while, ignoring you cumming not once, but twice.

Overstimulating you and stretching you more and more.

Finally, he inserted his dick back inside, and railed your hole.

You were spasming, barely able to keep your inside voice as he relentlessly slammed into your sweet spot, making you reach cloud nine again.

He didn’t seem to care as he continued to fuck you through it, not slowing down at any point.

He came hard inside of you, filling you up much more than last time, but he didn’t pull out as he continued to thrust.

He wasn’t done.

You realised that he’ll be true to his words and will continue to fuck you until you became so full that a bulge of cum would be on your belly.

He was moaning much louder now, probably overstimulated himself, but hard once again from feeling you around him.

You, on the other hand, could only take it, your mouth agape.

Your moans were barely restrained, and it seemed to be turning him on even more…

Encouraging him to fuck you harder, quicker, rougher.

You felt tears welling up in your eyes, and you came once more, tightening around him.

You heard him whimper as his brutal pace seemed to falter while he cursed under his breath.

You were exhausted, but your mouth kept begging for more as you slipped in and out of consciousness.

A hand stimulating your nether regions made your eyes go wide however as you screamed Yoru’s name as he kept pleasuring you.

“Don’t pass out on me,” He ordered, but in your blissful state, you could tell there was an inkling of worry in there.

Bucking your hips, you tried to meet his thrusts, as all you could babble was his name.

Spasming and trembling, you didn’t know what to do with yourself. 

Everything was too much and yet you wanted, needed, more.

He thrusted his hips deep inside of you as yet another load was released, Ryo almost crying out a long moan.

You were so close, too.

Through your tears, you could see him heaving, but the glint in his eyes told you he wasn’t done quite yet.

The hand on your crotch grew more intense as you clenched and unclenched around him, feeling him get harder by the minute.

His free hand brought to your neck, he squeezed gently and carefully as he continued to masturbate you.

You came around him, hard.

Picking you up, he sat on the edge of the bed and bounced you on top of him effortlessly, his hand still stimulating your junk.

All you could do was moan and beg.

For what, you didn’t know.

You registered him speaking to you, but couldn’t focus on the words, and his voice somehow turned you on even more as he whispered in your ear.

Bringing one of your hands on your lower belly, you could feel the slight bump of him and his cum.

As the heat built up once more, his pace grew erratic and uneven. 

You both came at the same time, for one last orgasm.

He didn’t pull out immediately, however, as his hands roamed around your body, as if memorising your curves and hard edges.

Too exhausted to stay awake and alert, you dozed off on top of him.

“I didn’t know you’d come back,” He continued, walking up to you. “Did something happen or was it always planned like this ?” He asked as he took your hands, a charming smile on his face.

“I made my decision a few days ago,” You answered, smiling sheepishly at him. 

“And you kept it from me ? My, my guardian, you really want to break my heart…”  He whined, as if he was kicked. “Or you wanted to see what length I would go to ?” He teased with a wink. 

You tried hiding your blush, to no avail.

You heard a groan, and you saw Yoru leaving the scene.

Excusing yourself from Chamber, you decided to chase after him. 

Eventually catching up to him, you grabbed his wrist.

“Hey, what’s wrong ?” You said as you stopped him dead in his tracks. 

“I’m fine,” He said, gritting his teeth.

“You’re obviously not,” You observed, moving up to face him as you took both of his hands.

He pointedly avoided your gaze.

“I thought we were going to be honest with each other from now on,” You stated. “Aren’t we friends ?” You continued, and it seemed like the wrong move.

“Right, fucking friends, right ? We’re friends just as much that you’re friends with Chamber, and yet you decide to fuck him for an entire night,” He hissed, looking at you with fire in his cold eyes.

You don’t think you’ve seen him this upset before. 

You took a step backwards, taken aback.

“Why does it concern you who I fuck ?” You questioned in disbelief.

“Because Chamber got you after what, a few weeks of hanging out ? We’ve been friends for months, I actually try to be better, and we’re just friends after all we’ve been through ? After you sacrifice your life to save me ?” He replied, taking a step towards you. 

“Did you even want to be more ?...” You hesitantly asked, not understanding.

“What do you want me to say ? Yes, you fucking-” He cut himself off, breaking eye contact, his phalanges white due to how tight his fist was. 

“I… I asked you what we were though, and you said “friends” !” You exclaimed, now even more confused. “Why not say anything ?” You continued.

“Because I couldn’t- I can’t…” He trailed off as he looked into your eyes, a pained expression painting his face for a short moment. He went back to being angrily upset rather quickly, however. “It doesn’t matter.”

“I never got the message that you wanted to be more, Ryo. You’re always so hard to decrypt-”

“Oh c’mon, shut the fuck up. As if it would’ve changed anything.”

He looked so… Defeated.

His shoulders were slouched, and he was looking at the ground, refusing to look up to you. 

“Wha-what do you mean ?” You tentatively asked, uncertainty full in your voice.

He didn’t answer immediately.

“If I told you that I wanted to fuck you, what would you do ?” He started, taking another step in your direction, looking at you dead in your eyes. 

You backed away with one, and he continued to walk towards you as you tried to make space from him.

Eventually, your back hit a wall, and Yoru leaned on it, hands on either side of your face.

“Would you let me put my dick inside of you and prove you that I’m a better fucker than him ?” He said, his face unreadable.

“You-you don’t have to prove anything-” You tried, but he cut you off.

“Oh, so he’s just that good, huh ? Did he fuck you senseless, pleasing you in ways you’ve never had before ? Taking good care of your crotch, your hole ?” He interrogated, one hand leaving the wall to start touching your body.

You shivered, even though you didn’t mean to. 

He wasn’t wrong.

But to be fair, you hadn’t fucked anyone beforehand…

Chamber did set a very high standard.

“Oh, are you getting excited already ?” He said, a genuine look of surprise on his face. “What a slut you are, aren’t you ?” He smirked, a look of amusement and disdain on his face.

He definitely noticed your shivers.

You started blushing in embarrassment, so upset at yourself for letting you just… Letting your attraction to someone get the better of you.

Tears started to well up in your eyes, but you blinked them away.

It didn’t escape him, however, and he seemed panicked at that, stopping all movements.

Well, almost all movements. 

The hand on your belly moved next to your face, but he didn’t dare to touch you.

He leaned in, right next to your face, and spoke, barely above a whisper : 

“If you don’t want this, please say no. I’ll stop, and we’ll forget this ever happened. Everything will go back to normal,” He promised.

You shook your head as you took deep breaths, clearing your head.

“No, I-” You cut yourself off. “Show me how you fuck, Ryo.”

“I guess it’s time to show you how people really fuck,” He announced, a big smirk gracing his features, the glint of worry in his eyes disappearing.

Once again for the second night in a row, you didn’t get much sleep that night.

These bedroom activities were getting slightly out of hand, if it was going to be a regular thing. 

You saw your friend Yoru appear in your line of sight. 

You tilted your head at his arrival, and he was looking anywhere but you.

You chose to stay silent, letting him gather his thoughts.

“Good luck,” He started, glancing at you. “For the mission and… All after that,” His voice broke off slightly, but he cleared his throat as if nothing happened.

You hesitated to tell him, but per his wishes, you decided against it. 

Taking off your helmet, you smiled softly at him.

“Thank you, Ryo,” You thanked, walking up to him. You took his hands into your own, squeezing them gently. “Don’t forget about me while I’m gone, okay ?” You joked, and he scoffed.

“You’re too much of a weirdo for me to forget you,” He replied, which made you giggle.

“Glad I’ve made a lasting impression on you,” You grinned, proud of yourself. “Because you certainly did for me,” You confessed, which surprised him. 

He seemed to realise something as he frowned. Your smile dropped.

“Did I say something wrong ?” You asked, worried.

He opened his mouth numerous times.

“I just wanted to say-” He started, but got cut off by Brimstone.

“Alright team, ready up ; departure in 5,” He announced, which all the agents concerned acknowledged with a nod, including you.

You turned back to Ryo, who simply shook his head, letting go of your hands.

You frowned, but didn’t push it as you put your helmet back on.

You waved at him as you went in direction to the hangar, feeling his eyes on your neck as you turned away.

The ride there was pretty quiet, everyone preparing themselves mentally for what was to come.

You, you were getting ready to say goodbye to your old home. 

To bid your adieu to the friends you’ve made and that you’ll be leaving behind.

A sadness overcame you, but you pushed it away.

Tears were for later, for now, the fight had to begin as you arrived at Fracture, and moved to the spot where you first arrived in this world. 

Soon enough, Killjoy and Raze were preparing for the operation while the others – including you – were on the lookout for any mirror agent. 

“Okay, we’re ready,” Announced Klara, turning to you and Brimstone.

You were nominated temporary captain for this mission, being the most experienced on the matter by a long shot. 

You were nervous.

Leading had never been your forte, and you considered turning the offer down, however they needed you to lead them, so you accepted.

“Alright then, everyone in position,” You ordered, and they did as told. 

They activated the device, and a portal opened.

You kept your cool however – this was supposed to happen.

What wasn’t supposed to, was the sheer number of Hives going out of it, and you ordered your team to open fire on them, trying to kill off the weaker ones. 

You succeeded, but they just kept coming.

“Start the procedure of closing the portal permanently !” You barked, already understanding that they won’t stop coming unless their access to this world vanishes.

At your order, they all started changing position, covering the other when they needed to go out of safety. 

Summoning a grenade, you threw it in the middle of the bunch, taking out a couple more.

“The device… It doesn’t react !” Exclaimed Killjoy into the communications, panicking. 

“What’s happening ?” You asked.

“Something on the other side is keeping the portal open,” Explained Raze, sounding troubled as well.

“So if we get rid of the interference, it’ll close ?” You asked for confirmation.

“Yes, it should,” Confirmed Klara, hesitant.

“Sova, Gekko, clear a path to the portal for me,” You commanded, and they all had a surprised reaction.

“What’s your plan ?” Questioned Brimstone.

“Going in, taking care of whatever’s holding that portal up, and get out,” You told him, and he seemed not only shocked, but worried.

“And if the portal closes before you can go back ?” Asked Gekko, hesitant.

“Guess I’ll be back home, then,” You shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, but you knew you’d be devastated. 

They nodded, and sprung into action as you ran up to the portal, jumping into it without much of a glance back. 

As you went back into your world, you immediately noticed the Hive wizards maintaining the portal.

You didn’t have the occasion to attack before you heard a familiar voice in your intercom.

“Lynn ?” Hesitantly said Fynch, as if not believing that you were here.

“Hi, Fynch,” They softly answered as you opened fire.

“H-how ? I saw you disappear, and haven’t heard back for months-” He started babbling, and you had to cut him off.

“Long story short, the portal leads to another dimension. I’ve stayed there ever since and plan on going back,” You explained as you tried dodging the incoming attacks from the thralls.

“Why are you here ?” He questioned.

“To permanently close the portal,” Lynn answered.

Both ghosts were silent for a while.

You could tell that yours was troubled, but desperately trying to hide it.

It didn’t take you long to connect the dots, however.

“Come with us,” You invited, as you defeated one of the 3 wizards.

“I-I can’t, the Vanguards needs me-”

“Lynn needs you,” You corrected. “The Vanguard is going to be just fine,” You reassured. 

He fell silent.

“Ultimately, it’s up to you, Fynch,” Gently started Lynn. “You deserve to feel like you belong, wherever that may be,” They continued, which seemed to make something click in the Hive ghost’s mind.

“I’m redirecting the forces to somewhere else,” He started, seemingly dead set on his decision. “Can you wait for me ?” He asked, hesitant.

“Hurry,” You simply said as you saw the numbers lessen.

They were going somewhere else, and you just hoped that whoever was going to intercept them was going to be okay.

You started focusing on the remaining enemies, noticing your ammunition getting low. 

You decided to shift your fire at the 2 wizards still alive, firing at them the best you could.

You defeated one more, and you were down to your last magazine.

You took a deep breath, growing worried.

You decided to use your ultimate, only for the last wizard standing.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you noticed Fynch, zooming at you at a speed you didn’t know ghosts were capable of.

Just as the last interference died, you caught him, effectively stopping the ghost from going too far as you ran up and jumped into the portal as it was closing.

You rolled into the sand, hitting the little mountain of rocks with your back, making you whimper in pain.

That was going to leave a bruise.

A bit knocked out by the back and forth between worlds, it took you a while to assess your surroundings. 

Your team was fighting off the last remaining Hive, effectively getting rid of them.

You smiled, proud of yourself. 

Letting Fynch go, it was his turn to observe the unfamiliar world around him. 

Seeing you there and the lack of a portal behind you, everyone cheered and ran up to you.

Sova was the first to notice the newcomer.

“And who is that ?” He asked, nodding at the ghost.

“Everyone, meet Fynch,” Lynn said, nudging him.

“Fynch, this is a part of the people that took care of me for all of this time,” You continued.