It should be a general agreement to think that playing with sulfur and explosive games at the same time would be one shitty idea. The thing was, you weren't with the general agreement. Not really. You did not really care. In fact, you were not exactly aware of how heavy your actions could be.
Whether it was a private briefing with Brimstone when you studied places that definitely were not on the fields, or testing tools and new prototypes with Tejo that were definitely too stimulating and with results too interesting to be used elsewhere than at his workshop, you enjoyed the thrill these two old dogs could give you.
A hint of realisation hit you when the younger agents once came to see you while you were going in the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
“Is it me or are Brim and Tejo fighting over you ?” Gekko asked you.
You silently turned towards him with a raised eyebrow, looking at him as if he just told you that he was the radivore and Wingman the human. Jett joined the conversation with a nod and wiggling eyebrows. Clove on the other hand had a wide smile.
“He’s right, you know,” said the Korean duelist.
“Everytime one of them is in the same room as you, it's like watching a soap opera !” Clove crooned.
“It’s even better when the three of you are in the same room.”
Noticing your skeptical frown, Gekko insisted.
“I swear we’re not crazy ! It’s like they always want your eyes on them or something.”
As if proving him right, Tejo arrived right around the corner with two cups of coffee.
“Here,” he handed you one cup with a fake casualness you noticed just now. “I made your favourite.”
While the younger agents exchanged knowing glances, your frown only deepened. You took the cup carefully and looked up at Tejo, oddly moved.
“You…know my favourite ?”
On queue, Brimstone arrived right at the corner. His stride was commanding for the attention of the people present. Was his eyes narrowing ?
“Emergency briefing. I need a detailed description of last night's mission. Clear ?”
“Yes Brim !” Gekko said while you just nodded.
Meanwhile, Tejo leaned a bit more towards you, a conspiratorial smirk adorning his lips.
“I have a thing for your preferences,” he murmured in your ear. “They’re more stimulating.”
Your eyes met Clove’s who just mouthed ‘tension’ as Brimstone arrived at your level. You then looked at him and finally saw, after weeks of being obliviously blind, the tension between these two. You knew these two had a background together, that there was an element of their common past that drove them apart. Now, you felt like a new element adding to their fuel.
You maybe should've gone for Sova instead. According to how you’ve seen him with his bow, you were certain he could handle you just fine. Omen was also an interesting one. You were pretty sure that his voice could be pleasurable in a more intimate setting. Plus, the two of them were friends. Little to no risk of civil war.
Brimstone and Tejo were aware of your situationship with the other and said that they were fine with it. You hoped that they weren't trying to reassure you in some way and trying to prove something to the other behind your back.
It was when you entered the briefing room that you realised how blind you were and how right Gekko was. Tejo sat beside you, and he leaned in your space with the ease of someone used to your skin and your warmth but was still craving for it. To distract yourself, you took a sip of the coffee. Your eyebrow twitched.
Fuck. He’s good at brewing coffee.
“The Omega Agents are trying less and less to cover surfaces on our Earth,” Brimstone said.
But you weren't listening. Your taste buds were waltzing. You wondered how Tejo managed to make a coffee that good. The regular packs in the break room and the kitchen definitely didn't have that taste. And before you realised it, your cup was empty.
“I’m glad you liked it,” Tejo murmured in your ear. But when you looked at him, he was smirking and staring at Brimstone. “I can make you a lot more and every morning if you’d like.”
You blinked, not knowing what to say. Maybe it was time for you to slowly take your distances with these two. As oblivious as you often were, you could see and sense the very obvious tension in the room. Every agent present in the room could. Some coughed, feeling awkward (Killjoy, Sage, Breach) , others were enjoying a bit too much (Cypher, Waylay, Clove, Jet) and a few were rolling their eyes (Yoru, Viper, Fade and probably Vyse).
In the end, you didn't hear a single word during that meeting. You did feel Brimstone’s presence behind you as you exited the room though. He was emanating a certain eagerness that reminded you of a happy dog. When you turned around, he was there, walking in your direction.
“Do you have a new strategy in mind ?” he asked you, leaning closer. “In case these Omega agents really have a plan in mind.”
You understood the message clearly. He was asking for some time together. You found him adorable in some way. There was something so endearing about him that you couldn't describe.
“I’ll send you an email.”
Surprise painted his traits for an instant before shadows of disappointment overtook them.
Time for you to deprive yourself of his gentleness and Tejo’s teasing. It should be easy, right ?
Could you distance yourself from them when they clearly were running after you ? If Tejo tried to coax you in his arms with his criminally delicious coffee, Brimstone managed to lure you into a kiss with homemade hot dogs blessed by heavens. Complimenting these had been your mistake.
“You like this ?” he murmured against your lips. “I can teach you how to make these.”
You had to admit that you found him cute in an apron. You started to fear what was happening with your heart.
You only managed to run away when you made the younger agents notice his talents behind a grill. The hot dogs were so successful they were begging for more for hours.
Finally, your days off came and you could flee from the protocol for some time. Was lazing in your bed a good strategy to not think about two veterans ? No. But at least, you could sleep and not think about a potential Omega incursion for a while. You avoided the sausages and coffee aisles at the grocery store like one avoided the plague, but still. These days off were very appreciated. You returned to your hometown's bookshop and read a whole novel without getting interrupted by an incoming mission, took a stroll in a nearby park without anyone dragging you to a training session and bought yourself some takes out.
When you came back to the headquarters, some agents were looking at you like you were the solution for global peace. You didn’t even have the time to carry your bags to your dorm room before Jett, Neon, Clove and Gekko ran, no, sprinted in your direction.
“The dads are fighting !” Jett screamed at you.
“Please go get your men !” Neon almost cried.
“There's too much tension !” Clove said.
You immediately noticed the hot dogs and burgers some of them had in their hands. Catching your gaze, Gekko let out a pained groan.
“Brimstone has been making these for days. I love food but he fed me more than my grandmother last time I saw her. And she feeds me a lot !” he whined. “I don’t think my stomach will survive.”
“And Tejo has been making coffee non-stop.” Jett added. “He even bought a new machine.”
“Could you please end this dad war ?”
You attentively looked at each of them, concern and exasperation present in your already tired gaze. Concern for them, because each younger agent was your protégé, little ducklings under your wings. Exasperation because of the two grown men acting like dissatisfied puppies.
“Jett, why are your eyes so red ?” you noticed with a frown.
“Tejo’s coffee is way too delicious for me to resist.”
You couldn't help but pinch the bridge of your nose, a migraine slowly blooming on your temples.
“Kitchen,” Clove answered immediately. And you noticed just now how they seemed more excited than usual, how they couldn't stay still. If they weren't immortal, you would be even more worried.
“You four, to Sage’s office. Immediately.”
You didn't give them the time to answer, you just stomped away. You left your luggages right in the middle of the hallway. You didn't have time to settle down, to unpack your stuff and you already had to lock in, even if it wasn’t to plant a bullet between two eyes.
When you arrived at the kitchen, the place looked thousands times cleaner than you thought it would be, but the silence got your eardrums whistling. You found the two culprits terrifyingly quiet. One was manipulating sausages and bacon, the other was (and you hoped your eyes were deceiving you) filling what seemed like a thirtieth cup of coffee on the counter.
“For fuck’s sake…” you muttered, looking way too exhausted for someone coming from a few days off.
They turned their head in your direction with a synchronization that would even make Kay/0 wonder if they were still human, and a smile slowly grew on their lips in a way that would swoon any horror movie writer.
“Welcome back, estratega,” Tejo greeted you.
“Yeah, welcome back,” added Brimstone. “Hungry ? I’ve got a new recipe for burgers.”
“Or you might be thirsty. I’ve researched several new ways to brew coffee.”
You massaged your temples, you could almost feel wrinkles appearing on your face because of exhaustion.
“None of you is getting my ass for a while,” you said plainly, not reacting to the surprised tainting their expressions. “Could you please stop this ridiculous war between you two ? Can I spend time with one of you without the other planning murder behind our back ? And could you please stop force-feeding the younger agents ? They’re gonna get sick !”
A heavy silence settled between you three. A silence interrupted by Tejo’s chuckle.
“Well, Liam has technically been the one feeding them.”
Your eyes narrowed sharply on the Columbian controller whose smirk quickly melted under your heated glare.
“They have enough caffeine in their blood to kill a herd of elephants.”
Surrendering to your pointed glare, Tejo turned off the coffee machine, and Brimstone set down the pastula with which he was doing burgers. You shook your head with a heavy and exhausted sigh, the weight of exasperation added to fatigue settling uncomfortably on your shoulders. When Brimstone pulled a chair, you let Tejo guide you to take the seat.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have started all this…” you took a deep breath and tilted your face toward the ceiling, “...whatever we’re doing.”
You vaguely heard them sitting beside you. You missed the eye-contact they exchanged or the slight grimace of worry on their expressions.
“So…you hate spending time with us ?” you heard Brimstone asking you.
“...not what I said,” you groaned.
“Is that what you implied ?” Tejo asked. “You’ve been avoiding us for a while now.”
You took a deep breath, then pinned them with a weary look.
“No. What I hate is being another reason for your little wars. I don’t know what happened between you, and visibly, it was some HARD shit,” you noticed the look they briefly exchanged and swallowed the umpteenth sigh that was about to escape you. “But I don’t want to be another element of the hate between you two. I love spending time with you. Way more than I’ve planned but I can't be the chew toy you two are fighting about.”
Another heavy silence settled. A silence filled with quiet communication between the two veterans. They clearly understood that the only way to keep you is to call a deeper truce than what they already have.
“What if we bury the hatchet ?” Brimstone asked.
You let out a light chuckle, your skepticism was loud. These two had a pride larger than their experience on the field.
“So little faith in us,” sighed Tejo. “Let us at least a chance. We missed you.”
Your eyes narrowed on these two men you liked more than you would admit. You were alright sharing your skin and warmth with them. Sharing your feelings on the other hand wasn’t planned. You liked borrowing Tejo’s glasses and jackets way too much, and you started to cherish waking up next to Brimstone the rare times you spend the night together.
“I supposed that I did too.”
The atmosphere in the room finally felt lighter, a weight visibly leaving your shoulders. But you felt awkward. In a way, did you just admit your blooming feelings for them ?
“My bags are still in middle of the corridor,” you cleared your throat standing up.
You interrupted Brimstone with a raised hand.
“Clean up your mess, you two. I’ll be in my dorm room.”
And like that, you ran away. They’ll catch up to you later. They always did, and they always will.
A/N : goddamn ! It wasn't supposed to be that long –_–'
